Seven Lives, One Fate
by RemusSiriusJames
Summary: My mother once told me, Remus said quietly into the silence, that Fate is not a set thing. She said that we can change Fate. Do you think it's possible, James? Sirius?
1. The Tragedy

**Author's Note:** I've had this idea for a while and finally decided to write it down. This is going to go from 1960 to the present, and will explain how seven individuals are intertwined to help shape the world they live in and what will happen before they reach the same fate they are all destined to reach, though they will reach it at different times.

I know the first few chapters might be slow, but they will explain why the characters are the way they are and what has shaped them into their beliefs - just please bear with me. This is my first attempt at a multi-chaptered story that I have written on my own (And unlike most stories that are abandoned because authors run out of ideas for the Marauders' years at Hogwarts, I have a lot of ideas, though I might skip some years. I'm not sure yet).

Please bear with me!

And of course, I do not own Harry Potter, though I do own the OCs and Egam, which you will soon be clear of what that is.

To those who are waiting for an update on _What If? - The Afterlife_, I am working on it, but I have no time to work on it consistantly. I promise an update by this weekend. PLEASE bear with me (I'm posting this because I had it written down prior to _The Afterlife_).

Thanks very much!

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**Chapter One: **

_The Tragedy_

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Marcus Adams yawned widely as he stretched in his chair. Having had a rough day at work, all Marcus wanted now was to have a goblet of fire whiskey with his wife and fall asleep by the fire. Though it would be the end of a rough day, there was one thing, however, he couldn't shake from his already occupied mind.

"Jane," he called sleepily, "when do you reckon we should pick up Jessie?"

Jane Adams, a pretty woman with long jet-black hair and hazel eyes, glanced up from setting the table. "Soon, I expect," she said, setting down a goblet and glancing at a clock on the far wall. It had twelve hands but no numbers and planets moved around it. "Eight twenty-five," she murmured, stepping away from the table and turning to her husband, her hand straying absentmindedly to her belly, which was bulging slightly.

Marcus noticed this and smiled. "You're worried."

Jane frowned, her brow furrowing slightly. "They say a dark power is rising," she said softly. "Are we right to bring another child into this world?"

Marcus watched his wife fret for a moment before he stood, approached her and put his arms around her. Marcus was concerned about his wife, for she had been worrying more than was healthy for anyone, especially a pregnant woman.

"Of course, Jane," he murmured, kissing the top of her dark head. "Just because some lunatic is on the loose-"

"-gathering more followers by the day," Jane finished, looking worriedly up at her husband.

Marcus met his wife's eyes and did not speak at first.

"Perhaps we should ask your brother if Jessica can stay the night," he said at last. "With you fretting like this, it will put her on edge. She may be a year old, but children know when their parents are worried. Jessie will never get to sleep."

Spotting the wide-eyed look in his wife's eyes, Marcus sighed and said, "She's safe Jane, don't worry."

"I don't believe she will be safe anywhere," Jane argued. "Even at the Potters'."

Marcus sighed. "Jane," he said seriously, "Joe and Sarah will take care of her for us. She's spent the night there before; tonight will be no different."

"Marcus-" Jane began but a noise in the house made them both freeze.

A loud howl echoed in the large house.

No, several howls.

"Werewolves!" Marcus hissed, glancing at his wand, which was lying on the coffee table.

"_Accio wand_!" Jane gasped, pointing her own at Marcus' wand.

As the wand flew towards them, the door to the sitting room crashed open as it was knocked off its hinges.

Jane screamed as the nearest wolf leapt at them, its jaws wide open, ready to kill.

"_IMPEDIMENTA_!" Marcus roared, pointing his wand at the wolf. The spell hit the wolf and it fell to the ground dazed. It didn't last long, however. With a shake of its head, the wolf began to snarl and stalk towards them, its fellows behind him. Marcus went white._ Damn_. Curses and jinxes ricocheted off of werewolves. How could he be so stupid?

"Jane, floo to your brother's house," He said hoarsely, pulling his wife behind him. "Quickly!"

"Not without you!" Jane squeaked, grabbing onto his arm. "Marcus-"

"You are with child!" Marcus shouted, pushing her away and trying to keep the wolves at bay, shooting hex after hex at them. "Think about Jessica! Jane, please! Go!"

"Marcus-"

"GO!" Marcus bellowed, "Go Jane, and don't look back!" He shot a jet of silver light at one of the wolves, making it howl in agony and rage.

The other wolves balked slightly and then began to snarl menacingly.

Blinking back tears of fright, Jane rushed to the fireplace behind them and grabbed the floo powder with trembling hands. She hesitated, glancing at Marcus in time to see a wolf jump on him, knocking him to the ground.

"JANE!" Marcus screamed a moment before the wolf ripped out his throat.

The jar slipped from Jane's hands and crashed to the floor, the powder spreading all over the floor. Her wide eyes were fixed on her husband's body, which lie under the wolf. She raised her shocked eyes to the wolves, who were now advancing on her. She trembled, knowing she and her unborn baby were going to die. "Jessie..." she whimpered as the wolves jumped on her.

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Joe Potter glanced at his watch and then up at his wife, who had just entered the room.

"Sarah, it is almost nine o'clock," he said, glancing at his niece and son, who had both fallen asleep on their play mat.

Sarah Potter frowned and crossed her arms. "Jane didn't tell you what time she is supposed to pick Jessica up?"

Joe shook his head. "No, she didn't, but I assumed it would be before eight-thirty."

"Why before eight-thirty?"

"That's the time Jane puts Jessica to bed."

Sarah looked down at her niece, her brow furrowed slightly. "You don't think anything has happened to them, do you?" she asked quietly, looking up into her husband's face.

"You sound like Jane," Joe laughed, leaning back in his chair slightly.

When Sarah didn't smile, Joe frowned.

"Sarah, you think something happened to them?"

Sarah shrugged.

"Like what?"

"Well, your sister is about four months along, isn't she?" Sarah began hesitantly, gazing into Joe's eyes worriedly. "You don't think anything happened to the baby...?"

Joe smiled and wrapped Sarah in his arms. "You worry too much dear," he murmured, looking down at her. "Mark and Jane probably came home late from their errands and thought we would look after Jess."

"I wish they would have contacted us and asked us to watch her for the night if that's the case." Sarah sighed, leaning into her husband.

The couple stood there for a moment, watching the babies sleep. Their son, James, clenched his little fist and shoved it into his mouth. He whined slightly, stirring, then fell back asleep.

Sarah laughed quietly, pulling away from Joe. "Let's put the children to bed then." She smiled as she bent down to pick up Jessica. "We can contact your sister in the morning."

Joe nodded as Sarah left the room, taking Jessica into the downstairs guest room. He gently picked up his son, who stirred again. The boy's hazel eyes focused on his father and a smile split across his face. Joe smiled down at his son. "Hey Jamie," he murmured, grinning as James reached up and grabbed a fistful of his father's hair. "You should go to sleep, its late," he told his son quietly. As though James understood what his father said, the child blinked sleepily and closed his eyes, his fist unfurling and sliding down his father's shoulder. Joe carried James to his room and lay him down in his crib. This time, the boy didn't stir, but slept on.

After making sure James had a blanket securely over him, Joe quietly exited the room, smiling tiredly. To him, moments like that made him proud to be a father. He couldn't, and didn't want to, get rid of the image in his mind of James coming out of his sleep to give his father a huge smile which, Joe thought, was a baby's way of saying "I love you" to their parent.

"Joe?"

Joe looked down the stairs, still smiling, distracted from his thoughts. Sarah stood at the bottom of the stairwell, looking concerned.

"Joe, Albus is here."

Joe's smile faded. "Albus? Albus Dumbledore?"

Sarah nodded. "He is in the sitting room. He says he needs to speak with us - urgent news."

Joe's stomach dropped. The happy, peaceful feeling he had felt a moment ago evaporated. Quickly, he joined his wife downstairs, his heart beginning to beat frantically against his chest.

"Joe?" Sarah's beautiful blue eyes were full of fear. "Joe, you don't think...?"

Unwilling to let her finish that thought, Joe reached for her hand, a hard look in his eyes. He shook his head to tell her without words to be quiet, and led the way into the sitting room, gripping Sarah's hand tightly.

"Albus?" Joe asked, coming to a halt in the doorway to the sitting room.

The auburn-haired wizard smiled gently. "Hello Joseph. I am very glad to find you well this evening."

"And you as well, Albus." Joe said, gripping Sarah's hand more tightly as the couple sat down on the couch.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink, Albus?" Sarah asked, making to stand, but Albus held up a hand.

"No thank you Sarah. I am here on serious business."

The Transfiguration teacher of Hogwarts eyed the nervous couple for a moment. Finally, Albus' eyes rested on Joe.

"Joe," he began gently, "I am afraid I have some grave news."

"Is it about my sister?" Joe asked quickly, his voice cracking slightly, his heart beginning to beat even more fiercely against his chest. He felt Sarah link her arm with his.

Albus nodded. "This evening at eight twenty-seven, there was an attack on the Adams' home."

Joe tensed and he heard Sarah gasp. Joe's eyes hardened on his old Transfiguration teacher. "What happened?" he asked quietly, his voice surprisingly calm.

"I am afraid that it was a werewolf attack, Joe."

Sarah squeaked, clapping a hand over her mouth. "B-but werewolves don't just attack at random!"

"It is my belief that the werewolves were sent by an outside source."

"Were_wolves_?" Joe repeated, feeling as though the world had turned to ice. There were _werewolves_? As in more than one wolf? As chills ran sharply down his spine, he felt his wife's grip on his arm tighten and knew Sarah must have been thinking the same.

Joe fixed Albus with an almost stern look. "They're dead, aren't they?" He asked in a quiet voice, most unlike his own.

Albus nodded sadly, peering at them over his half-moon spectacles.

Sarah gave a small sob and buried her face into Joe's arm.

Joe closed his eyes, feeling emotion rise in his chest, which felt tight. As his throat constricted he felt his body shake slightly from the shock of the news that had just befallen them.

Jane.

His baby sister was dead because of those monsters...

He opened his eyes, which burned at the corners and took a deep breath. "Thank you for telling us, Albus," he managed at last.

Albus sighed. "I hate to be the bearer of terrible news, but I thought it would be best for you to hear it before reading it in the _Daily Prophet _tomorrow."

"What - what about Jessica?" Sarah looked up, her face blotchy and tear-streaked.

Joe closed his eyes again as Albus's gaze fell on him.

The wolves had come close... so close to wiping out the whole family...

"We'll raise her." Joe said quietly, opening his eyes. His gaze fell on Albus, who was blurred because of the tears obscuring his vision. "We're her godparents. Sarah and I will keep her safe."

Albus stood slowly. "Please, do not rise," he said gently as the Potters made to stand. "This is a grave matter that has occurred in your family; I must ask both of you to rest. I must leave now and alert the Ministry that you will be raising the child." He smiled sadly at them and left through the front door. The quietly closing door sounded like a slam in the stillness.

"Joe..." Sarah sobbed, burying her face into her hands. "Oh, Joe..." Joe gathered her in his arms, feeling tears running down his own cheeks.

From this moment, he hated werewolves. He would forbid James and Jessica from befriending a werewolf, even though he always taught tolerance to any human or creature. Werewolves had killed his sister and her husband and their unborn child. Joe vowed to make sure that he would protect his family from any more harm from those beasts that prowled at the full moon, no matter what.

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Liked it? Hated it? Am I a terrible multi-chapter writer by myself or should I stick to self-written one-shots?

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

This will probably be updated much more slowly than _The Afterlife_, but will be posted as, I guess, a filler for updating.

**A/N:** Yes, 'befallen' is a word. I looked it up via 


	2. Two New Beings

**Author's Note:** Just to be sure I'm not confusing anyone, the histories of the characters take place in different years during the 1960's; they are not all in synch with each other. For example: James and Jessica's story takes place in 1961, this story takes place a year later. The events will be in order of years, but all of the characters, in the end, are the same age. You could probably figure out that for yourself, but I just wanted to clear up any confusion.

And I know showing magic at a certain age probably doesn't matter in the HP universe, but it does in my fic, so please don't flame me for that. It's the only way I can make this work.

And of course, nothing you recognize from the books is mine.

BIG THANK-YOU TO: **lightheart.37 **and **mysid **for reviewing! You guys are so awesome - I seriously appreciate it!

If anyone from _What If - The Afterlife _is wondering when I am going to post the next chapter, I promise it will be within the next week or so. Again, I'm really sorry about not updating!

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Chapter Two:

Two New Beings

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**Definition of Egam:** _The female version of a Mage; A powerful being, gifted with the Power of the Ancient Magi, who is able to use magic without a wand and is able to summon powers from within her very being. This being shows magic younger than that of an average witch or wizard (around the time they leave infancy is about average), and has a short lifespan; No Egam have been known to live past the age of twenty-one. When an Egam shows magic for the first time, it is usually caused from sensing high emotions in their designated area. The most common signs of an Egam are blowing something up, saving someone that no one else could help or any drastic change between infancy and toddler-hood, though the most frequent signs are the small things those around Egam often miss, such as electric jolts, important items appearing in random places and the like. No Egam or Mage has ever been known to produce offspring, therefore it is currently unknown whether or not this gift is hereditary or simply a random choice, predestined to a particular child. An Egam is born every two hundred years in times of absolute chaos and only to families who are aware of what an Egam or Mage is. Most Egam are labeled as dark witches and help the dark side to prevail as long as they are alive. Egam lead devastating lives which causes them to stray to the wicked side. However, Egam have been known to live on the side of the Light, though these Egam are far and few between. As long as she lives, an Egam remembers every detail of her life from the time she is born, though if something should prevent the Egam's memory from absorbing every detail -thus reducing it to the mere human memory- then the Egam will regain the memories in the same amount of years that the Egam's age had been when the memories were forgotten. An Egam has an inner-witch, which controls her power. The Egam meets the witch in a dream when she discovers her identity. Once an Egam discovers who she is, her life will change for the worse, forever._

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"Are you ready Mrs. Jones? Okay, now push!" The voice of a Healer floated above the cries of pain behind the door.

Taina Jones sighed and tossed her book onto the chair beside her as she heard her mother struggling to give birth. She glanced at the nearest window, which showed a dark, cloudy sky outside. She looked around at her siblings, both of whom were on the floor.

"It doesn't sound good, Tay." Her brother, Trevor, commented from the floor as he kept their little sister, Candice, occupied. The small girl giggled as she pulled at Trevor's shoelaces.

"No, it doesn't," Taina muttered, standing and approaching the door to the delivery room. "Dad?" she called apprehensively.

A Healer appeared and shooed her away. Taina, feeling frustrated and helpless, walked back over to her siblings.

"They wouldn't tell me anything," she said, frowning at her brother.

Trevor's eyes rounded in worry and he glanced at the door, which was now closed.

"She's been in there for a while," he said quietly. "Ouch!" He added, glaring at his little sister, who had sent a small jolt of electricity up his arm. "Candy, what was that for?" He asked the child, who gazed up innocently at him.

"She didn't do anything, Trevor." Taina frowned at her brother, scooping up their two-year old sister.

Trevor eyed his little sister suspiciously. "She shocked me, Tay."

"Don't be silly." Taina moved Candice to her hip.

Candice laughed, tugging at her sister's hair. "Tay-tay!" She grinned up at her sister.

Taina smiled at her and then turned to Trevor, frowning. "How could she have possibly shocked you? She's too young to show magic."

"I don't know!" Trevor sighed irritably. "Tay, I just know it happened!"

"Trevor," Taina said seriously, setting a squirming Candice down on the floor, "You just started showing signs of magic, which is typical for witches and wizards about seven years old. Candice is two years old - she can't possibly be showing magic this young."

Trevor sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine," he mumbled, looking away, scowling.

Taina and Trevor sat there in silence for a moment, watching their sister as she slowly stood and waddled towards the opposite wall.

"She's showing signs of magic already, Tay," Trevor said quietly, his hazel eyes never leaving the child.

"What are you saying?" Taina frowned at him. "Are you saying she's an Egam or something?"

"A what?"

"An Egam." Taina stared at her brother in disbelief. "Don't you ever listen to Mum when she comes home from work?"

Mrs. Jones worked in the research department of the Ministry of Magic, and sometimes came home with stories of interesting case-studies. Trevor shook his head, apparently figuring no seven-year-old would possibly be interested in boring case-studies.

His older sister rolled her eyes and explained, "An Egam is a very special witch who can summon magic and just think about something happening, rather than using a wand to perform magic."

"So, this magic, then… is _wand-less_ magic?"

"Exactly."

"When do they show signs of magic?"

"Usually just after leaving infancy to about three years old."

Trevor's eyes flicked to Candice, who was chasing a bubble a nearby elderly witch had conjured up for her, and back to Taina. "Tay-"

"Oh Trevor, be reasonable," Taina snapped, feeling very annoyed. "Just drop it."

"But-"

"She would have shown a drastic sign of magic like... like blowing something up or-"

Taina broke off as the door opened, and the two eldest siblings looked up at a grave-looking Healer who was approaching them. "Your mother cannot give birth," he told them quietly, looking troubled. "She won't respond to any treatment we are giving her either."

"What - what's going to happen then?" Taina asked nervously as Candice ran over to her brother and sister, yelling, "Bubble! Bubble!"

Trevor stood and grabbed his sister's hand, trying to quiet her down. He looked up at the Healer as Taina spoke.

"Sir," she began in a shaky voice, "Can't – can't you do a C-section or something?"

The Healer smiled sadly and shook his head. "I am afraid not," he said gently, "the shock of the surgery would still kill them both. This is something magic cannot fix. Your mother wishes to see you to - to say goodbye." He gazed around at them, regret in his eyes. "I am terribly sorry, but unless by some miracle she makes it and the baby is delivered..."

Trevor gasped, his grip on his sister's hand loosening in shock.

Taina bit her lip fighting back the tears that sprang into her eyes as she stood shakily. Candice must have realized that something was wrong because she quieted down and tugged on Trevor's sleeve.

"'Ver?" she asked meekly. "'Ver?"

Blinking back tears, Trevor tightened his grip on Candice's hand and led her by the hand to the delivery room, following his sister and the Healer.

Their father sat beside his wife, pale-faced and trembling. Their mother was flushed and looked as though she was in immense pain. She gasped slightly as the children entered the room and closed her eyes as though she was trying to block out the pain for a few moments.

"Please, sit here." The Healer summoned two chairs and asked Trevor to give Candice to their father.

"Dada?" Candice asked, her eyes round as she was given to her father.

Mr. Jones smiled sadly and gently shushed his youngest daughter. Taina and Trevor both stared sadly at their mother as Mrs. Jones opened her eyes and fixed her glassy gaze on them. Giving them a shaky smile, she reached out her hand and they each grabbed onto it.

"Its - its okay Mum," Taina said shakily, tears streaking her face.

"We're here," Trevor said quietly, his eyes quite red.

"I know." Mrs. Jones' eyes were glazed as she gazed at her two eldest children. She winced and smiled sadly at them and whispered, "Taina, finish your schooling at Hogwarts. Trevor, take care of Candy for me, please."

The children nodded, holding back their tears as much as possible. "Yes Mum," Both children mumbled, each squeezing her hand gently.

Mrs. Jones smiled at them and closed her eyes for a moment, her breathing becoming quite labored. Opening her eyes again, she turned her head to her husband, who was holding her hand. "Kristoff," she said softly, but that was all she said. It seemed her body was becoming much weaker by the minute.

Kristoff smiled sadly; it seemed he did not need to hear anything from his wife; he seemed to know what she was trying to say. "I know, Hannah," he murmured.

When Hannah's eyes fell on their youngest daughter, who's usually buoyant face was clouded with fear and confusion, Kristoff removed his hand from his wife's and replaced his with his daughter's. A split second after Candice's hand touched her mother's, Hannah gave a sudden shriek as Mrs. Jones' body gave a violent jolt and there was the sudden wailing of an infant.

Hannah fell back against her pillows, breathing heavily. Everything froze for a few seconds then the Healers sprang into action, whisking away the baby and asking the family to leave. Hannah turned her head to Candice and stared at her as she caught her breath.

Candice's tearful eyes stared into her own, and suddenly, in that moment, Hannah _knew_.

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"A _what_?"

Kristoff and Hannah were in the recovery room the next morning. Hannah had asked to only see her husband, as the children might tire her out quickly.

"An Egam," Hannah repeated wearily, "I've told you about them before. They're-"

"I know what they are," Kristoff said impatiently, "I just don't understand how our daughter can be one. I've never seen her perform magic at her age."

"You did last night," Hannah argued, "Right when she touched my hand, I was able to give birth. I was able to live and so was our son." Her eyes softened as she gazed down at the child at her breast.

Kristoff ran a hand through his hair, frowning. "Coincidence," He decided finally, "Candice is not an Egam. It isn't possible."

Hannah shook her head, suddenly feeling too exhausted to argue.

"Could you fetch the children?" Hannah asked Kristoff quietly. "I want them to meet their brother."

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"_'David'_?" Taina raised her eyebrows as she took her baby brother in her arms.

"I still say we should have named him Bucky." Trevor grinned, sitting next to his sister and peering at his brother. "Bucky Jones."

"I still say you have a dirty mind for a seven-year old," Taina retorted before their parents could speak. "Honestly, his initials-"

"Exactly."

"Trevor!"

"Keep your voices down." Kristoff commanded sharply.

The two eldest children glanced at each other then up at their father, who was holding Candice in his arms. The child in question was peering interestedly at the thing her siblings were giving their attention to.

Trevor felt a sudden stab of jealousy as Kristoff smoothed Candice's hair, making the child look at him with a grin. Of the three children thus far, Candice was by far their father's favorite. He spent more time with her than either Trevor or Taina could remember him spending with them. Taina suspected it was because, of the three, Candice had been the one to inherit their father's eyes. Trevor didn't know why their father favored his third child, nor did he really want to know. Knowledge, in this case, would equal pain. Forcing his eyes away from his father, he peered down at the tiny child in his sister's arms.

"David is rather small for a baby, isn't he?" Taina asked, looking up at her mother, trying to break the awkward silence.

Hannah nodded. "He's a few months early," she admitted. "He'll be in the hospital for a while, but the Healers say he should be alright. Honestly, they can't figure out how we both lived."

"Thankfully you did," Trevor imputed quickly.

Hannah smiled wearily. "Yes." She turned to her youngest daughter and smiled.

"Thankfully."

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A/N: I don't know how much of the definition actually made sense, but if you guys follow the story, you'll understand what I'm trying to say. All will make sense eventually.

I'm fairly happy with this chapter. I'm sure I could make it better in some way, but if I tried, I'd make it worse. If you guys have any tips in places that I can improve my writing, please feel free to add those. Thank you so much for reading!

Reviews are appreciated; flames will be used for torches.


	3. A Different Kind of Pain

**Author's Note: **I really didn't want to do this. I mean, this chapter obviously had to come eventually, but I didn't want to write it immediately after chapter two. Oh well. I had no ideas for a toddler-hood for Sirius, Lily or Peter, or anything else for James and Jessica, so Candice's had to come first before I rack my brain so hard that I lose interest in this... and lose my ideas for the rest of the story. I think it fits anyway, actually, and maybe you'll see it in chapters to come. We'll see.

I think this chapter is much shorter than the previous two, but that's okay – I don't care much for this one, but it is necessary.

Warning: Abuse in this chapter.

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Chapter Three:

A Different Kind of Pain

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She was always the favorite.

Always.

His father favored Candice more than any of them; even his newly born son, who would turn one in a few months' time. Trevor would sit at the bottom of the stairwell and watch as Kristoff played with Candice in the sitting room, oblivious to his wife and three remaining children. Often, Trevor wondered if Kristoff sensed Candice's abnormality. Hannah sensed it. He sensed it. Taina denied it. What was it about his sister that bewitched his father into spending all of his time with his third child? If Kristoff sensed Candice's abnormality, Trevor often thought fearfully, was he trying to win her over so he could teach her to follow in his path?

Taina was no good; she had broken the Slytherin tradition in their family to be sorted into Ravenclaw, although, she had secretly told her brother, the hat had considered her for Gryffindor, but she had refused out of fear of her parents; for the fear of the wrath of their father. The hat had refused to place her in Slytherin, so Taina had been forced to settle for Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff could be forgiven, but Gryffindor?

Certainly not.

If Taina had been no good for their father, then Trevor, who idolized his older sister, certainly wasn't. Only being five years younger than her, Trevor was close to Taina and tried to imitate her character. Candice, however, was much too young to pay attention to what kind of things her siblings were doing.

David seemed like a lost cause, being so close to Candice's age.

Oh, it wasn't that Trevor didn't love his sister; he was worried about her. Worried that their father might drag her into the Dark Arts and expect her to influence David when he was old enough; worried that forcing an interest in the Dark Arts on his youngest daughter would turn her against her family - against Taina and Trevor.

He was dragged from his thoughts when his mother's voice floated down the stairwell, calling for his help. Trevor sighed and stood, casting another anxious glance at his sister, who was being entertained by big bulbous bubbles blossoming from her father's wand. Trevor shook his head, and vanished up the steps.

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"Did you know that bubbles can make sound, Candice?" Kristoff asked the child as a bubble popped and emitted a squeak.

"Mousie-bubble!" Candice laughed, clapping her hands. "Again!"

Kristoff smiled and created another bubble, this time making the sound of a baby duck.

They spent a good ten minutes being entertained by the bubbles, when one very large bubble popped and made the sound of vicious snarling.

Candice screamed in fright a split second before the kitchen exploded.

Kristoff yelled in alarm, pointing his wand at the burning kitchen. Pale-faced, he restored it with a wave of his wand as the rest of the family came downstairs.

"Kristoff-? What-? What's going on?" Hannah gasped, clutching David tightly to her.

Taina ran to her sister and scooped her up in her arms as the child cried.

Kristoff didn't move a muscle; he stared at the restored kitchen with a clouded look in his eyes.

"Kristoff?" Hannah touched his arm gently.

Kristoff rounded on her. "AN EGAM!" he roared, making his family jump. "SHE'S A BLOODY EGAM!"

"I - I tried to-" Hannah began meekly, but Kristoff slapped her hard across the face.

"Mum!"

Trevor took a step forward, but froze as Kristoff pointed his wand at his youngest girl, anger burning in his eyes.

"You bloody child," he snarled at her, making Candice cower into her sister. "LOOK AT ME YOU DAMN CREATIN!"

"Dad, stop it!" Taina cried.

Breathing heavily, Kristoff stormed from the room, pushing Trevor aside as he passed.

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Things were never the same in the Jones household after that. Kristoff was never at home, and when he was he went into a drunken rage. Kristoff seemed to favor beating his wife in times like this, sometimes making sure Candice was in the room when he did this. After about a month of this, Kristoff began to target his three eldest children - Candice in particular. When he made her watch the abuse he inflicted on her mother and eldest siblings, he would scream that she had caused this, that their misery was her fault. At three years old, Candice, now forever scarred, believed him.

One night, however, Candice's life changed forever.

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Candice's breathing was even, signaling that she was deeply asleep; sleeping well for the first time in weeks.

_The child slowly walked through the pitch-black room, unable to feel any walls or even a floor. Terrified, she tried to run, but she could not; she only slowed to a walk, her breathing maintaining its even rhythm. "H-hello?" she called anxiously, her voice echoing around the empty cavern. She heard clinking and felt cold metal on her wrists. Startled, she looked down and saw a pair of shackles on her wrists, their chains broken, as though waiting to be mended. _

_"Candice." Came a soft voice, looming out of the darkness. _

_Candice looked up and gave a startled cry. A beautiful woman with a misty glow about her approached the child. The woman wore a sleek lavender dress embroidered with gold. Her long dark hair fell into ringlets at her elbows, her face was pointed and elegant looking. _

_"I am Versale." The woman said, coming to a halt in front of the child. "I am the controller of the powers you hold."_

_"P-please," Candice said timidly, "Could - could you make the magic go away?"_

_Versale smiled. "Well-spoken for a child so young, are you? I am afraid you cannot stop your magic from flowing through your veins, just as you cannot stop the sun from rising."_

_"B-but-!" Candice bit her lip. "But, if the magic goes away, daddy will be nice again."_

_Versale's smile faded. "I am sorry, but what is done is done. If the magic were to vanish, your father would still pursue you so."_

_"But - !"_

_"Vanquishing the magic within soul kill you, child."_

_Candice stared at her in stunned silence. _

_Suddenly, the cavern crashed down around her as she heard a horrible scream-_

Candice awoke with a start to heavy breathing and a tight grip on her arms. She started to cry in fear and pain as the thing that had her threw her across the room. Candice's head hit the door and she screamed. She stretched out her hand for the door, but it had gone.

Seizing the chance, the girl scrambled to her feet and staggered out of her room, screaming, "TAY-TAY! 'VER!"

A door exploded and Candice heard David's wails. A sharp pain shot up her leg and she twisted around to see the thing that had grabbed her. To her horror, the child came face-to-face with her father.

Kristoff's face was blotchy and his eyes were popping. With a roar or fury, the man threw his daughter down the stairs.

Screams.

Pain as her different parts of her body hit each step.

A sharp pain traveling from under her right ear, under her jaw and chin.

Something wet and sticky on her neck.

_Flump._

"CANDICE!" She heard someone scream as her body came to lie at the bottom of the stairs. Candice closed her eyes, allowing the pain to course through her.

As she lay there in pain, she heard two pairs of feet rush down to her, heard a _CRACK_, which she recognized as someone coming or leaving. She was scooped up into someone's arms; saw a flash of red light and all went black.

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"Candy?"

"Is she awake?"

"Candice? Can you hear me?"

Candice's eyes blinked open. She was lying in a white, soft bed in a white room. "'Ver...?" she asked weakly, turning her head with a wince.

Trevor sat at her bedside, his face was white.

Taina stood behind him, looking very relieved, holding a sleeping baby in her arms.

"Oh, Candy, we were so worried about you." She sighed, smiling.

"Where's mummy?" Candice asked quietly, looking around as she felt a bandage on her jaw line. She winced, taking her hand away.

Trevor and Taina exchanged dark looks. "Mummy's gone, Candy." Taina said gently. "It's just us now."

"Why?"

Trevor's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't you remember?"

He glanced at Taina when his little sister replied, "No."

"Tay, you didn't do a -?"

"Candy, just sleep, okay?" Taina said gently, grabbing her brother's arm and pulling him up. "We'll be back later."

Candice watched as her siblings left, Trevor throwing a suspicious look at her over his shoulder at her.

The door closed and she was left alone.

Candice lay back down, staring at the ceiling, wondering what had happened. She closed her eyes and saw a fuzzy image of her father, some stairs and red light. The more she tried to focus on this image, the faster it faded. She sighed, and opened her eyes again. It was quiet for a moment before she started to sniffle at the fact that her mummy was gone. If mummy was gone, then so was daddy.

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**Author's Note:** I know, the ending was horrible, but I'd written myself into a corner by the time I'd gotten to the hospital scene. I always suck at endings and beginnings, I'm so much better at the body of the story. Ugh. I'm really not happy with this chapter, but it was the best I could do. The only part I am happy with is the focus on Trevor in the first part of this chapter.

Please review! I want to know if you guys think this story is good or not. Let me know what you thought of this chapter - I need to know what I could have improved on.


	4. The Bite

**Author's Note: **Hello, I am still alive. I am so, so sorry I haven't updated in a month. If any of you are high school seniors, I think you will empathize with me with how much work is assigned during senior year - especially in AP English. I know I should update_ What If? - The Afterlife_, but I feel like doing this one at the moment. I am working on it though - I promise!

**Thank you so much to:** Cad2u, The Fiffth Marauder and ElizabethGMontgomery and everyone who added me to their alerts (and any other reviewer who I forgot)!

Cad2u: I'll come back to Candice within a few chapters and your question shall be answered. Just hang tight!

Okay, in case anyone hasn't noticed, I'm very bad at writing children. Please bear with me, better chapters are to come!

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Chapter Four:

The Bite

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Remus knelt by the water's edge, his bright amber eyes fixed on a toad which was sitting on a rock in the river. The toad croaked as though it sensed the boy there. Slowly, the small boy shifted the long stick in his hand, trying to make it longer so it would reach the toad. He bit down on his tongue, which stuck out slightly in his concentration. If only the stick were a bit longer, then maybe -

"Rem? Remmy, _what_ are you doing?"

Remus jumped in surprise; his grip on the stick slacked and half of it splashed into the water. Startled, the toad jumped as well... right into the water.

"No!" Remus cried, scrambling to his feet, throwing the stick to the ground angrily. "Rommy, why?" he demanded of the older boy, who had reached his side.

His older brother, Romulus, picked up the stick and examined it in silence. "What were you going to do," Romulus asked, quizzically glancing at his furious brother, "kill it?"

Remus shook his head, frustrated that his brother had scared away his toad. "No, I was gonna catch it for Mummy!"

"You could have fallen in," Romulus pointed out.

"I can swim."

Romulus snorted and threw it into the river. "Come on." Romulus grinned at his brother, ruffling his hair. "It's getting dark. Mum will be getting worried about us."

The smaller boy puffed out his chest importantly. "You can't tell me what to do," he said hotly. "I'm four and a half."

Romulus rolled his eyes, which were a chocolate brown like their father's. "I'm seven, Rem. I can tell you to do whatever I want, now move!" He pushed his brother slightly, which made Remus nearly lose his footing.

"Don't push me!" The younger boy whined, regaining his footing and trying to push his brother back.

"You'll have to catch me, Rem," Romulus teased, turning and running out of the woods.

Remus stared after his brother for a moment, then huffed angrily and started after him.

"Rom! Rommy, wait!" the small boy yelled, pumping his small legs as fast as he could.

Whether his brother could hear him or not, he didn't know. All he knew was Romulus seemed to speed up his pace, making Remus slow down, breathing hard.

"Rommy!" The boy whined loudly.

Romulus seemed to have definitely heard that one for he slowed and came to a stop, turning on the spot with his arms crossed. "Remus, come on!" He called impatiently.

"Romulus? Remus?"

Romulus glanced over his shoulder as his brother half-ran, half-walked towards him. "Coming mum!" he yelled. Once Remus caught up with him, he grabbed the boy's hand and led him out of the trees.

Their mother, Samantha Apollo, stood at the edge of the forest, looking very stern. Her arms were crossed and her wand stuck threateningly out of her pocket. "There you boys are." Her unwavering gaze was fixed on her young sons, Romulus in particular. "Romulus Apollo, how could you possibly have let your brother go into the forest when you were supposed to be watching him?"

Romulus shifted his feet anxiously. "It isn't my fault, mum," he mumbled, gazing up at her with innocent eyes.

Samantha's stern lips twitched slightly. Romulus tried hard not to smile. His mother tried to be strict, but the innocent act won her over each and every time. Sighing, Samantha shook her head and knelt down so she was eye-level with her boys.

"You," she told her eldest son seriously, "are a trouble-maker, young man."

Romulus grinned and Samantha finally smiled, ruffling her son's medium-brown hair.

"You're so much like your father was," she murmured, frowning.

"Mummy!"

Samantha looked around at her youngest son, who seemed to have been trying to get his mother's attention.

"Mummy, I tried to catch a frog!"

Samantha stared at him. Remus puffed his chest out happily. With a quick glance in Romulus' direction, she smiled nervously.

"Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh." The boy bobbed his head excitedly, his light brown hair falling into his eyes. "But, but it hopped away. It falled into the water."

"_Fell_," Romulus muttered.

"I'm just glad you didn't," Samantha affirmed, standing and taking each of her sons by the hand.

"Mum, can you teach me chess, tonight?" Romulus asked excitedly as the trio walked towards the small cottage.

"We'll see," Samantha said, winking at him.

"Me too!" Remus said loudly.

"You won't understand it," Romulus snapped at him. "You're too young."

"No I'm not!"

"Boys," Samantha began sharply, but a booming voice cut her off.

"Samantha, I thought you had a handle on them."

Samantha stopped and released her sons' hands. "I do, Socrates," she replied calmly.

"Daddy!" Remus began to run towards his father, but Socrates pointed his wand at the boy.

"Halt."

Remus stopped dead, staring up at his father's wand with wonder and fear.

"Goodness, Socrates, he's just a boy!" Samantha snapped, cradling her young son in her arms.

Socrates snorted. "With your coddling, he may as well be a girl."

Samantha's face grew hot with anger and shame.

"Look at him, Samantha. He's filthy with mud," Socrates continued, eyeing his son with disgust. "That is the improper sort of play for a pure-blood, no less an Apollo."

Remus cringed under his cold, hard stare. Samantha, however, looked furious.

"Take your brother inside, Romulus," she told her eldest son gently.

Romulus nodded and took his brother's hand. The boy made no sound as his brother led him closer to the house.

Samantha turned back to her husband. "He is almost five, Socrates." She said angrily. "Remus is a child. You cannot treat him like an adult when he barely knows how to read! Not to mention, both of our children are _half-bloods_."

"Yes, tainted with Mudblood filth," Socrates sneered.

Samantha's eyes flashed. "You didn't have to marry me, you pure-blood folly."

_Smack._

Samantha stumbled as her face snapped to the side, her light brown locks falling into her face. Socrates said nothing, but quietly turned and walked towards the house, leaving his wife in the cool evening.

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_"Are you certain, dear?" Claire Lupin, her mother's best friend, fastened the last button on the back of Samantha's wedding dress. "I mean, you are only eighteen and fresh out of Hogwarts... why would you get married so soon and throw your life away?"_

_Samantha laughed, turning around and smiling broadly. "Claire, it's not the end of my life, but the beginning; I love Socrates and we're going to build a life together."_

_Claire shook her head. "I still say, Sam," she said disapprovingly. "Ravenclaws pride themselves on excellent insight. Do you really think that this Slytherin chap is right for you?"_

_Samantha sighed, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Claire," she said softly, "I can't live without him. Ever since my parents died, he is all I have left. I love him."_

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"Mum?"

Samantha jumped and looked across the table. Romulus sat across from her, staring expectantly at her.

She smiled coyly. "I'm sorry Romulus. Was it my turn?"

Romulus nodded; looking back at the board as his mother frowned, scanning it for possible moves.

Remus had eventually gotten bored of the game and had settled himself next to his father, listening in interest as his father read the paper aloud.

"Wazzat mean?" could be heard frequently, making Socrates stop and explain what he had just read in four-year old terms.

Samantha grinned to herself, imagining Socrates' annoyed face as she moved her Queen to D4. "Check," Samantha stated, then began to explain to her son what it meant and what he could do to get out of check.

At last, Socrates huffed loudly and threw his paper to the floor with a flourish. "Remus. Romulus. Bed." Romulus jumped down from his chair, but Remus opened his mouth to protest. At a stern look from his father, the boy gulped and scrambled off of the couch, hurrying towards his brother.

"I'll go tuck them in," Samantha told her husband and followed her children out of the room.

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"What a day," Samantha sighed, flopping down on the couch next to her husband. She leaned back comfortably for a moment before going on. She smiled dreamily. "Just think: In four years, Romulus will be going to school, and in seven, so will Remus." She laughed. "Goodness, these years are going to go by so quickly, aren't they?"

A grunt came from behind the paper that her husband had retrieved. Samantha exhaled shortly through her nose, feeling frustrated.

"As it's close," said Socrates' voice from behind the paper, "we should begin to discuss the boys' education."

Samantha frowned. "Why? They're going to Hogwarts, aren't they?"

"I'd rather the boys go to Durmstrang, Sam." Socrates set the paper down and glanced at his wife.

Her mouth fell open in disbelief. "_Durmstrang_? The school for the Dark Arts?"

"The very same."

"But - why?"

"It is a much finer institute than Hogwarts. I am friends with the Headmaster, Imus Karkaroff. His son, Igor, started this year. Imus informed me that the students there are taught the Dark Arts so they will be able to defend themselves against it. Besides, I have been told that Dumbledore, that Muggle-loving ninny, is set to serve as Headmaster in a few years. Dippit seems to have gone off his rocker, having hand-picked Dumbledore himself."

"That's wonderful." Samantha smiled. "I always liked Professor Dumbledore. He's a good man."

Socrates shook his head. "No. We're sending the boys to Durmstrang."

"What if we sent them each to a different school?" Samantha suggested. "For example: We could send Romulus to Durmstrang and Remus to Hogwarts. This way we would both be happy."

"Absolutely not. We are sending the boys to Durmstrang, and that's final!" Socrates barked, causing Samantha to shrink away slightly as he raised the newspaper.

"Mum? Dad?"

Socrates lowered the paper as he and Samantha looked around. Two small boys stood at the foot of the stairs, clad in their nighties. Remus was gripping Romulus' hand very tightly, looking scared.

"Boys, go to bed," Socrates said sternly.

Remus bit his lip and glanced at the window. Romulus, however, kept his father's gaze.

"We can't," Romulus said, uncertainly. "There was a dog barking under our window."

"A dog." Socrates repeated flatly.

"What kind of dog?" Samantha asked, standing.

"Well, I didn't see it," Romulus said slowly, glancing down at his brother. "Remus did though. He said it was big and hairy. Like a wolf."

"A wolf?" Socrates was suddenly on his feet, his wand out.

He towered above Remus menacingly. His son shrank behind his older brother. "Are you sure, boy?" he asked, his eyes boring into his youngest son. Remus nodded quickly and Socrates quickly strode to the window.

"A full moon," he murmured, turning to his wife, who looked very anxious.

"Samantha, if I am correct, what Remus saw was a werewolf under their window."

Samantha froze. "A werewolf?"

Socrates nodded and turned to the boys just as a crash sounded in the kitchen.

"Boys, get behind me!" Samantha ordered, pulling out her wand and stepping up beside her husband just as she heard soft snarling.

As the children ran behind their parents, the kitchen door was knocked off of its hinges by a beast. It was a wolf, just as Romulus had described. It was large and hairy with spittle dripping from its jaws as it turned its gaze to the two adults in the room. Samantha heard Socrates curse softly as the wolf began to advance, snarling viciously.

"Stun it, on three," Socrates muttered to Samantha, his eyes never leaving the beast.

"It'll bounce off!" she hissed back.

The wolf, sensing hesitation and weakness, snapped its teeth and leaped at Samantha.

"THREE!" Socrates bellowed and two jets of red light collided with the beast's stomach.

It fell to the ground as the spells bounced off of it in either direction. Socrates turned to his wife, looking grim.

"Samantha, grab the boys and get out of here. Apparate if you can."

He turned back to the beast, leaving no room for argument. Samantha hesitated, then hurried to the couch, where her boys were huddling together. Two pairs of eyes gazed back into her amber ones and she grabbed their hands. _Diagon Alley_, she thought desperately, trying to block out the sound of her husband fighting the wolf. _Diagon Alley_. She couldn't concentrate on any part of the alley, not even the pub that one had to enter through to get to Diagon Alley. She looked up just in time to see Socrates pinned under the wolf, his hands on the beast's snout to keep any bites at bay. Samantha released her boys' hands and pointed her wand to the left of the wolf.

"Reducto." she whispered and part of the wall blew up, pieces of it hitting the wolf at various spots on its body.

The wolf looked up, its yellow eyes fixed on Samantha and then on a point just behind her. It leaped off of Socrates and knocked Samantha aside.

"No!" Samantha gasped, fumbling for her wand as the wolf stopped short of the two boys.

Its yellow eyes met each of theirs in turn. First Romulus' dark brown eyes, then Remus' amber ones and back again. The wolf growled as flames erupted on its backside, its eyes fixing on Samantha. With a loud snarl, the wolf jumped up on the couch, one paw pinning each of them down and its jaws found its target.

Remus screamed.

"Remus!" Socrates bellowed, scrambling to his feet at last, his clothes bloody from the wolf's nails digging into him.

Samantha turned the fire blue and the wolf released the boys, almost screaming in a human-like way in pain. It leaped at her with murder in its eyes as both Samantha and Socrates shot a flash of bright light at the wolf. It froze and slowly began to morph back into a human.

Socrates gasped. "Ferinir?"

Ferinir Greyback grinned, blood dribbling from his mouth as he patted the out fire on his back.

"A filthy half-breed, eh, Socrates?" the werewolf cackled. "I would have loved to turn you into someone like me, but I think your boy deserves it so much more, don't you think?"

"You bastard," Socrates whispered, his fists shaking with rage.

Greybeck roared with laughter, morphing back into a wolf and leaping through the sitting room window.

Romulus grabbed his brother's hand as the smaller boy fainted from pain and blood loss. Socrates and Samantha stared at one another in horror and rushed to their sons, one of whom had blood oozing from is left shoulder.

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"I am very sorry," Healer Jemson said, gazing at the Apollos sympathetically. "Werewolf bites can be treated, but cannot be cured. I am afraid your son is a werewolf for life."

Samantha closed her eyes, feeling a wave of emotions wash over her.

"What can we do?" Socrates asked, his hand gripping his wife's quite gently.

"You have two options," Jemson said, gazing between them sadly. "You could register him as a werewolf, or you could put him down. The choice is yours."

"We'll put him down," Socrates said firmly.

"No, we won't." Samantha looked up at her husband.

"Sam, he'll be a menace if kept alive," Socrates said harshly, pulling his hand out of hers. "He'll never have a normal life. He's better off dead."

"I won't let you harm my baby!" Samantha said angrily, standing up out of the chair she had just been in. Socrates' eyes darkened on his wife. "Fine," He replied coldly. "We won't put him down." The Healer nodded and left the room. Socrates stepped closer to Samantha, rage in his eyes. "You take him then. I'll take our normal son. If I ever see Remus again, I'll kill him." With that, he turned and stormed from the room, leaving Samantha staring after him in disbelief.

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A/N: Wow, this was my longest chapter so far! To me, it was important because it is what made the Marauders, the Marauders. I had a lot of fun writing this too. (and yes, I love the though of Remus having a brother named Romulus)

The next chapter won't be as long, but it's about Sirius.

Please review!


	5. Of Weddings and Neighbors

**Author's Notes**: As an "I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while" present, here is chapter five! This one will be the first of many chapters that will combine more than one character. Remus and Candy are back, and two other characters will be introduced in this chapter. Also, because this is during the same year, I put all of the characters together in one chapter (in case anyone is puzzled as to why I have done that). I put each name in bold so you know what childhood each scene is taking place in.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me thus far!

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Chapter Five:

Of Weddings and Neighbors

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**SIRIUS**

Sirius tugged at his collar uncomfortably. Trust his cousin, Bella, to get married on the hottest day of the year.

"Sirius," hissed his mother, "stop squirming."

Sirius scowled at her and crossed his arms.

"And sit up straight." Mrs. Black ordered.

Sirius sighed and sat back, glancing at his three-year-old brother, Regulus, who was squirming just like he was.

"How long will this take?" Sirius whispered.

Mrs. Black sighed, "Not long Sirius; just sit still please. You are five years old; you are able to sit when you are told."

He stared ahead and then looked around at all the guests. He knew them all, of course, they were all purebloods. He smiled as Bellatrix passed, looking extremely pretty in her wedding dress. Bella caught his eye and winked at him before fixing her attention forward. Sirius' eyes fell on the crowd of people ahead of him, then up at the bridesmaids and felt a jolt of shock upon realizing that his cousin, Andy, had been allowed to attend the wedding. Andy stood near the front, next to her sister, Cissy, who was also a bridesmaid. Cissy beamed at Bella, but Andy's smile seemed very forced. Sirius knew, but didn't understand why Andy was upset that Bella was marrying Rololphus Lestrange. He was a good man and a pureblood. Sirius saw her gaze drift his way and he gave a small wave. Andy grinned at him and then turned her attention back to her sister. Quickly becoming bored as the ceremony went on and on and on, Sirius started to squirm again. He sighed in a very frustrated way, but then fell silent at a stern look from his mother.

Blimey, he could not wait until this stupid thing was over.

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"TO BELLATRIX AND RODOPLUS!!" A voice roared at the reception, which was followed by tumultuous cheering and applause.

Sirius joined in, yelling loudly, feeling a rush with all the excitement that the wedding held. The dancing started soon after the toast; Bellatrx was dancing with her father to begin the dance. Soon, everyone else was allowed to join in and Sirius felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up at Andy, who smiled down at him.

"May I have this dance?" she asked formally, holding out her hand.

Sirius crinkled his nose. "I don't wanna!" he whined.

Andy grinned. "You can't leave a girl without a date Siri, now up!"

She promptly picked him up, ignoring his protests, and carried him to the dance floor.

Sirius huffed angrily and scowled at her.

Andy laughed. "Goodness, you're spoiled Siri."

"I'm not spoiled, I don't wanna dance." Sirius pouted.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Would you like me to tell your mother that?" She laughed as Sirius shook his head frantically.

"Andy?" He asked as the dance ended and another started, "Tell me about Hogwarts again."

"Again?" Andy sighed. "Surely you've gotten tired of hearing about the school? You'll get your letter soon enough."

"Six years!" Sirius whined, "That's a long time!"

"Its not that long," Andy smiled. "Well, when you go to the station, you have to go through the barrier through platform 9 3/4, but you have to do it carefully so the Muggles don't see you. Once you actually get to Hogwarts, you have to take a test to get sorted."

"I thought you said we had to wrestle a troll..." Sirius accused, frowning.

Andy grinned. "Well, one of the two."

"Andy!" Sirius scowled at her.

Andy laughed. "You're so gullible, Sirius." Her eyes twinkled again. "You'll have your basic classes in your first year - you know, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms and Astronamy. Once you get into your third year, you'll be able to take electives like Ancient Runes, Divination, Muggle Studies -"

"Why would anyone want to take that?" Sirius asked, looking disgusted. "Muggles are horrible."

Andy's smile faded. "I'm going to tell you a secret, Sirius," she said in a low, serious voice. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay."

"I mean it, not even your parents."

Sirius gazed at her questioningly. "Okay," he said slowly.

Andy glanced around quickly and then whispered in his ear, "I'm dating a Muggle-born."

Sirius gasped, goggling at his cousin. "You're-?" he began very loudly.

"Quiet!" Andy hissed and glared at him as she carried him off of the dance floor.

"Sirius, please don't say anything. If you do, it'll be the end of me."

"Why are you dating one?" Sirius demanded as Andy carried him to the table furthest away from everyone.

"He's amazing, Sirius," Andy gushed, setting him down. "Ted is his name. He's nothing like the family."

"What's wrong with the family?"

"The pureblood obsession; It isn't right."

"But, we're the ones who deserve to have magic, aren't we? We're not dirty; we're pure. Purebloods, Andy."

"It isn't a person's blood who identifies who they are!" Andy said angrily, "A person is defined by their tolerance of others and their personality, not their rank of blood."

"But, what does the family have to do with people and their blood-type then?"

Andy met Sirius' eyes for a moment, gazing very seriously at him. "You'll see when you're older," she muttered, turning to watch the dancers.

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"GET OUT!"

Andy was thrown against the wall with a loud cry of pain.

Her mother, Celeste, swooped down on her like a vulture, eyes blazing in hatred.

"GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE! YOU DO NOT BELONG IN THIS FAMILY, YOU FILTHY BLOOD-TRAITOR!"

Andy gritted her teeth as she slowly stood and glared at her mother.

"Ted is worth ten of you," she snarled, pointing her own wand at her mother.

"Crucio!" Celeste shrieked, pointing her wand at Andy, whose screams rang through the house.

As the curse lifted, Andy almost wished she hadn't told her parents about Ted. On the other hand, she was now free to do as she wished. Though she was only fourteen and could not live on her own, she knew Ted's family would give her a place to stay. Staggering to her feet, Andy pointed her wand at her mother and the woman became stiff as a board. Andy smiled grimly as Celeste fell flat on her back, unable to move.

"Don't worry mother," she said softly, opening the door behind her, "I'll be sure to give you plenty of half-blood grandchildren, and hope to high heaven they are in Gryffindor."

With that, she stepped out of the house, slammed the door behind her and disapparated.

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As quietly as he could, Sirius tip-toed down the staircase. He could hear his parents' voices in the sitting room near the age-old tapestry that hung on a wall in the hallway. Carefully, the boy peered at it and his heart stopped. Between the names BELLATRIX and NARCISSA there was a small burn, which blacked out the name. The name ANDROMEDA was now erased from the family tree.

"If you stray her way," hissed a voice behind him, making him jump out of his skin, "you will also be removed, I promise."

Sirius turned and stared at his mother, wild-eyed. "But Andy-!"

"There is no 'Andy' in our family, Sirius," his mother said coldly, "We do not tolerate blood-traitors in our family. Remember that."

She grabbed Sirius' arm and dragged him to his bedroom, forcing him to stay there for the night.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**Candice**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The August sun shone brightly in the neighborhood of Farnham. Taina wiped her sleeve over her brow, ignoring the sting of a newly-developing sunburn on her shoulders. She closed her eyes, leaning her burned back against the large apple tree in the front yard. Taina heard the faint crying of a toddler and the yelling of an older boy. Her stomach dropped at the realization of how long it had been since any of them had seen their parents. Two years. Had it really been two years since her parents had left, leaving her in charge of three young siblings? Taina opened her eyes, hearing a familiar squawk.

"Taina Jones!"

Taina looked around at the woman whom Dumbledore had placed in charge of the children two years ago. Melinda Bones, a St. Mungo's Healer, stood on the porch, her hands on her hips. She was a middle-aged, heavy-set woman who took kindly to Candice and David, but didn't care much for Taina or Trevor.

"Three weeks," Taina muttered to herself, standing slowly. "Only three more weeks until you go back to school. Just deal with her first. Yes, Mrs. Bones?" she added to the older woman.

Mrs. Bones bristled slightly, as she always did when it came to Taina. "Have you seen your sister?" Mrs. Bones asked, eyeing Taina wearily. "I haven't seen her since lunchtime."

Taina groaned softly. Candice had made a habit of disappearing three times a week. Though she was only five years old, Taina was impressed with how powerful her sister had already become. Her "infamous disappearing act" annoyed Mrs. Bones a great deal because she didn't realize that Candice had figured out how to become invisible by her last birthday in June.

"I'll find her," Taina called back and quickly approached the hedge that separated their yard from the neighbor's. She turned to go on the side of the house when she heard the front door shut. Taina sighed in relief and turned to the hedge.

"Candice," she said sternly, "come out. I know you're in there." When no one replied, she pulled out her wand and began poking it through the bush as she walked along side it. At last, about half way through, she heard a squeal of pain. "Found you." Taina grinned as Candice reappeared, sticking out her lip and rubbing her shoulder.

"Taina, that hurt!" the girl whined.

"Well, don't hide on us like that. You're scaring Mrs. Bones." Taina stuck her wand back into her pocket.

"_She's_ scary, Taina," Candice said, her blue-grey eyes widening.

Taina laughed and picked up her sister. "I know, honey. She scares everybody."

Candice giggled, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Candy, why do hide all the time?" Taina asked suddenly, setting her sister down and taking her hand.

"Versale wants me to." Candice looked up at her sister, as though it were obvious. "She wants me to play with my powers."

Taina frowned, leading her sister to the tree. "Just be careful, okay? We don't need something else blowing up."

Candice suddenly stamped her foot on the ground. "I didn't mean to blow up the nursery!" she shouted angrily, making Taina jump. "It just happened! It's not like I've ever done it before."

Taina quickly stopped herself from correcting her sister. She didn't know what would happen if Candice found out that the Kitchen Incident was the reason that their father left two years before. Because of an Egam's perfect memory, she didn't know if bringing up that single incident would disrupt the memory charm that she had placed on Candice the night their parents left.

"I know," Taina said weakly. "I just don't know Versale is all..."

"Well,_ I _do." Candice glared at her sister. "Why can't you trust me? Versale won't tell me to do something that would hurt me."

Taina highly doubted this, but found it best not to argue. "Hey, do you hear something?" Taina asked, changing the subject quickly.

Candice frowned. "No-" Then she froze and turned to the hedge. "Is there someone over there?" She asked, her eyes widening on her sister.

"I think so," Taina said breathlessly. Dumbledore had placed a spell over the Jones' household and the two houses on either side of it after Taina's parents had left. The house was invisible to Muggles, and the none of the Jones children, nor Mrs. Bones, could hear or speak to their neighbors. However, if the neighbors were wizards who meant them no harm, the spell would weaken but would hide both households from the Muggles. In weakening the spell, however, the Jones house was much easier to find by any wizard. "C'mon." Taina grabbed her sister's hand and the two girls quickly rushed off of their yard and onto the sidewalk. In front of their house.

"There are people!" Candice burst out excitedly, pointing at a mother and her young son.

The woman looked up and so did the boy, who looked very sick.

"Candy, don't point," Taina reprimanded. She looked up with an awkward smile. "Er, hello. My name is Taina and this is my sister, Candice."

The woman smiled shyly. "My name is Samantha Ap... Lupin. This is my son, Remus."

The boy cast the girls a weary look and stepped behind his mother. Unfazed by the boy's shyness, Candice smiled brightly at the prospect of a new friend. "Hi Remus," she said from where she stood. "I'm Candice, your new neighbor."

Taina smiled and looked up at Samantha. "So, Mrs. Lupin -"

"Samantha, please," Samantha corrected quickly, again, smiling nervously.

"Samantha, then." Taina nodded. "Where did you live before?"

"Thetford," Samantha said and quickly changed the subject. "So, are you and Candice the only children in your family?"

Taina hesitated. "No," she said slowly. "We have two brothers, Trevor and David. Trevor's younger than me, and David's younger than Candy. We live with a caretaker, also. Our parents are dead." The last part, Taina knew, was a lie, though she wished with all of her being it was true.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Samantha's eyes rounded sympathetically.

Taina shrugged. "It was a while ago; we're over it."

Her bluntness seemed to puzzle Samantha, who shrugged it off best she could. The two stood in awkward silence as Candice shifted from foot to foot, trying to get a better view of her new neighbor, who was still hiding behind his mother's legs.

"So, you're a witch?" Taina asked, trying to sound casual.

Samantha stared. "How... how did you-?"

"After our parents died, Professor Dumbledore put a spell on our house, which would show us to any witch or wizard in our neighborhood," Taina explained, smiling.

"Why?" Samantha asked, curiously.

Taina waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. It was just to keep us safe. Do you need any help unpacking?" She added, spotting the many boxes on the lawn. "I think it would help us get to know each other."

Samantha's face broke into a relieved smile. "Oh, would you? That would be fantastic."

For the first time, since she had come home from Hogwarts, Taina felt a surge of delight and excitement rush through her. "Great! I'll get my brother, Trevor, and tell Mrs. Bones where we are. Oh, Samantha?" Taina grinned broadly. "Welcome to the neighborhood."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**Lily**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Petunia Evans stepped out of the car, her blue eyes narrowed slightly on the large house the family would be living in.

"Petty?" Came a voice and Petunia looked up at an auburn-haired woman who was holding the hand of an auburn-haired child. "Petty, could you watch Lily for a few moments while Daddy and I talk to the nice realtor?" she asked as she pressed Lily's hand into Petunia's.

Petunia scowled after her mother as she walked away. Looking around their new yard, Petunia released Lily's hand and stepped away from her.

"This neighborhood is too clean," Lily commented, wrinkling her small nose.

"I think it is perfect," Petunia retorted, rolling her eyes. "It is much better than that old, broken-down house we used to live in."

"You were upset as much as I was about moving, Tuney," Lily argued, shooting the house a dirty look, as though the Evans' reason for moving was its fault.

Petunia sighed. "Yes, Lily, but eventually you are going to have to move on with your life and realize that nothing is going to stay the same."

"I guess," Lily said doubtfully, then shrugged. "Tuney, do you want to go exploring?"

Petunia glanced at the house uneasily. "I think mum wanted us to stay here - "

"Oh, we won't be gone long," Lily chirped and set off towards some trees.

"Lily!" Petunia yelled after her, "Mum wanted us to stay here!"

Lily ignored her and kept running.

Petunia sighed in annoyance. "LILY!" She ran after her five-year-old sister. She chased Lily into the woods until they came to a river. Lily came to a stop and stared down at the rushing water. "

"Lily!" Petunia scolded, grabbing her sister's hand roughly. "Lily, don't run off like that!"

"Is this that place Mum was talking about?" Lily asked, staring out over the river to a house about 20 yards away. "Spin something?"

"It doesn't matter. Don't ever run off like that again, Lily! You could get hurt and then you'd be in trouble! What if you fell into the river? You'd die!"

Lily looked up at her sister, her shoulders drooping in shame. "I was just-"

"I don't care!" Petunia snapped, pushing her sister away from the river. "I'm going to get into trouble because _you_ ran off."

As the girls walked away, Petunia glanced over her shoulder at Spin-something, as Lily had called it. _Spinner's End_ was what their mother had said, but she wasn't about to correct Lily on that. She spotted something and stopped in her tracks. There was a boy standing near the river. He was a very off-looking boy. He had sallow skin, as though he had never seen the sun, stringy hair and wore the oddest smock.

"Severus Snape!" she heard a man yell. The boy in question flinched slightly and turned away from the river, continuing to watch the girls until he was turned all the way around. Petunia shivered. She had the strange feeling she'd see this boy again.

"Tuney?" Lily had stopped as well and was gazing confusedly at her sister.

Petunia shook her head. "Let's go," she mumbled, grabbing her sister's hand and leading her from the woods.

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Author's Note: I'm not really pleased with the part of Sirius, nor am I happy with how Lily and Petunia's part turned out, but I am very pleased with how Remus and Candy becoming neighbors turned out. The first part of the chapter was hard for me to write. Also, I picked a random English town for the town Remus and Candice live in (It's near Surry, which is why I chose it).

On the sisters, in OoTP, on page 113 (US version) it says Andromeda's name is between her sisters, so she must have been the middle child. I don't know the age difference between the sisters, so I made them four years apart - Bella's 18, Andy's 14, Cissy's 10. I wanted Andromeda to be older, but meh. What have you?

Also, if you're wondering about the memory charm Taina mentioned, she did get a warning from the Ministry of Magic, so she's had to be careful about her wand since then.

Please review!!


	6. Discoveries

**Author's Note**: Hey… I know I said I had a lot of time this week (WHICH I DO, BY THE WAY), but I have a really bad pain in my side (it's either something with my kidney or a pulled muscle, though I'm hoping for the latter (waiting for the test results)), and since I stayed home from school last week, so I decided to write most of this chapter – and yes, I am working on What If – The Afterlife; I just felt like doing this one while I was lying on my bed, bored out of my mind. I finished it Saturday, though, because I was tired of sitting at the computer all day (this took me about four or five hours to type). I've also been surprisingly busy with school, when I thought I'd have oogles of time. (Finals are next week… dammit)

Okay, just so we're all clear: This story takes place in the summer of 1967 within the course of three months. It's mainly Candice/Remus-centric (it explains a lot which is really important later on), but I threw in some of Lily and Petunia as well, just for good measure. I decided to try something new: For the most part, this chapter is pretty intense, so hopefully you'll enjoy this one.

This is my longest chapter so far, by the way. (21 pages and over 6000 words.)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added me!

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Chapter Six:

Discoveries

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**Remus and Candice**

_Oooooowwww……_

Candice opened her eyes for the fifth time that night. The sweltering summer heat was almost unbearable. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes with her small hands. She lowered her hands into her lap and closed her eyes, feeling herself slide into the coolness of her own soul.

_Oooooowwww……_

Candice opened her eyes groggily. What had been that sound? She pushed her covers back and crawled out of bed. The moon shone brightly, lighting up the neighborhood like the sun. The girl placed her hands on the windowsill, staring out onto the empty street. Squinting out at the horizon, Candice noticed a faint blue lining the edge of the sky. Curious, Candice glanced over her shoulder at the clock in her room. It was nearly five o'clock in the morning.

_Oooooowwww……_

Candice jumped and turned back to the window. What had made that noise? She leaned closer to the window, nearly pressing her nose against the surprisingly cool glass. Her eyes carefully scanned the street and yard for a few moments before something else caught her attention.

Something was moving in the shadows near the Lupins' house.

Straining her eyes, Candice tried to make out the shape of whatever it was, but to no avail. The thing moved back into the shadows where it could no longer be seen. Candice hesitated – what should she do? Her first instinct told her to run and get either Taina or Mrs. Bones. She shivered at the thought of waking Mrs. Bones, her scary caretaker. That left her to wake Taina, whom she knew couldn't use magic outside of school for another two months, nor would she approve of going outside to see something that Candice may have imagined.

But, Candice considered as she squinted at the shadows once more, what if she went outside on her own?

Candice threw an anxious glance at the clock –it was now thirteen minutes past five in the morning- and she made her decision. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from the window and quietly walked towards her closet. After rummaging around in the dark for a few minutes, Candice pulled on a jacket and her sneakers.

Breath bated, she crept towards her door and slowly opened it, pausing slightly whenever it creaked. Once she was able to fit through the door, she slipped through and carefully shut it. Creeping down the hall, Candice listened as hard as she could for anyone stirring from their rooms. As she neared the staircase, Candice noticed that Taina's door was slightly ajar. Passing her sister's room, Candice froze, hearing the creaking of a bed. Slowly, she glanced into the room, seeing a dark lump on the bed, which she took to be her sister's sleeping form under the covers. A few tense moments passed, but no more sound came from her sister's room. Candice released a long, slow breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Versale," she whispered as she crept down the stairs, "When I go outside, I need light."

_You don't, child_. She heard Versale's silky voice say. _The full moon casts enough light for you to see._

Once she reached the downstairs landing, she crossed to the door in a few large steps and opened the door as quietly as she could. Moonlight splashed into the house as Candice pulled the door open and stepped outside into the warm early-morning. Her eyes carefully scanned the yard, searching for the being that lurked in the shadows.

She suddenly heard a low growl behind her. Candice tensed and slowly turned to find a small dog crouched behind her, its yellow eyes fixed almost hungrily on her. The dog looked as though it came up to her chest, had matted grey fur and wide mad eyes. Saliva dripped from its jaws as its growl became a snarl.

Candice backed away, her heart racing. She threw a desperate look up at the moon, suddenly realizing that a full moon meant that a werewolf would be outside. _Versale_, she thought desperately, but her Egam did not respond.

Suddenly, the werewolf pup straightened up and howled loudly – a sound Candice recognized with a sickening jolt of the stomach. Without warning, the werewolf leaped at her, snarling, and knocked her to the ground. Candice gave a frightened scream as the pup growled, its nose inches from hers.

Their eyes met and the pup's growls receded. It stared at her and she stared back, trembling. She tried to break eye contact with the creature, but she couldn't. Suddenly, however, the wolf stopped growling altogether and cocked its head to the side. Candice, though still terrified, frowned in confusion. Why wasn't the dog attacking her? Of all things, it seemed to recognize her… but werewolves didn't recognize anyone when they transformed, did they? As she stared into the werewolf's eyes, they suddenly gleamed from yellow to a familiar shade of amber. Then she realized who the werewolf was.

"Remus?" she whispered.

They stared at each other for a moment, when suddenly a blast of light hit the werewolf in the side, knocking him off of the girl. Candice sat up and looked around. Mrs. Bones, Taina and Trevor were all running towards Candice. Mrs. Bones had her wand pointed at the pup, which had begun to snarl at them again.

"Candy!" Taina gasped, reaching her sister's side first. "Candy! Oh, Merlin, you're alright…"

"What the bloody hell were you doing outside during the full moon?" Trevor shouted, glaring furiously at his little sister.

Candice opened her mouth to speak when they all heard another voice shriek,

"STOP! What do you think you're doing?" They all looked around and saw Samantha Lupin running towards them, her own wand out, looking frantic.

"This beast nearly killed one of the children," Mrs. Bones replied coldly. "I'm surprised Candice wasn't bitten."

Samantha's eyes widened slightly and she threw a worried glance in the girl's direction.

"Why do you care, anyway," Mrs. Bones sniffed, still pointing her wand at the pup, and shooting stunning spells at it to keep it at bay, "about this half-breed?"

Samantha's face burned in anger. "That _half-breed_," she said angrily, "is my son."

There was a tense silence.

"That's Remus?" Trevor gaped at the young werewolf, which was becoming more agitated by the minute.

Samantha nodded, her face becoming a deeper shade of red. "Yes," she said weakly. "He must have gotten through the barrier I had set up for him…"

"Your son is a bloody werewolf?" Taina shouted, pulling her sister closer to her. "What if he had bitten my sister?"

"What was Candice doing outside in the dead of night?" Samantha shouted back.

"QUIET!" Mrs. Bones boomed, making everyone look up. She looked livid. "For having a half-breed not locked up," she told Samantha coldly, "I will report you to the Ministry of Magic and have this beast put down."

The color drained from Samantha's face. "No…" she croaked.

The werewolf, who had recovered from all of the spells thrown at it, suddenly took advantage of Mrs. Bones' distraction and leaped for her arm, his jaws wide.

"NO!" Candice screamed as Mrs. Bones leaped back in alarm.

The werewolf landed beside Mrs. Bones and snarled menacingly.

"Remus, stop!" The pup twitched slightly and turned to face the girl, who was now standing and staring at the pup fiercely.

The wolf growled softly, but did not move.

The adults and her siblings stared at her.

"How did you do that?" Trevor asked, amazed.

Taina stared at Candice, a look of dawning comprehension on her face. "So, you can control werewolves too?" she asked, quietly.

"What was that?" Samantha rounded on Taina, who glanced at Mrs. Bones.

"Mrs. Bones," Taina said, grabbing her sister's hand. "You don't need to report the Lupins."

Mrs. Bones looked furious. "And why not?" she demanded.

Taina glanced at Candice, who was also looking confused. "Because Candy can control him," she replied, looking uncertainly at her sister.

"What do you mean 'control him?'?" Samantha asked, looking in between the sisters.

"She's an Egam," Trevor explained.

"Trevor Jones!" Mrs. Bones scolded as Samantha gasped.

"Are you serious?" she glanced uncertainly at the young girl, then at her son, who was still sitting in the same spot, his yellow eyes fixed on Mrs. Bones.

Trevor and Taina nodded. Taina pulled her sister close to her and murmured in her ear, "Candy, try calling him over to you."

Candice glanced at her sister apprehensively and, at Taina's encouraging nod, pulled her hand out of her sister's. She knelt down and looked at the pup, which looked at her almost suspiciously.

"Remus?" she said nervously. "Come here."

The wolf hesitated, then slowly stood and approached the girl, growling quietly.

"You were going to report us," Samantha rounded on Mrs. Bones, her voice shaking with anger, "when you're caring for someone who is even more dangerous than my son?"

Candice's eyes widened and she looked very hurt. Taina and Trevor both stood up just as the wolf began to growl again.

"Stop it." Candice told him and his growls ceased.

"She isn't dangerous!" Taina snapped, glaring at her neighbor, who glared back.

"Can she control her powers?" Samantha asked quietly, her eyes burning into Taina's.

Taina froze, realizing Samantha had done research on this subject.

"Has she Connected with anything? Did _she_ kill your parents?"

"No, she didn't!" Taina snarled, tears pricking her eyes. "She hasn't done anything!"

Without anyone noticing, the sun had begun to rise. As it gently spread its rays across the earth, the werewolf began to twitch and writhe slightly. Candice watched in horror and amazement as the werewolf became a boy before her very eyes. Soon, Remus lay shivering on the ground from the pain as he looked up at her weakly. His eyes widened in horror and confusion as the adults around them bickered. Candice gave him a gentle smile and pulled off her own jacket, draping it over his bare shoulders and looking up at everyone else.

"Excuse me!" she yelled loudly. "_Excuse me_!"

The adults looked down at her, and all except Samantha looked taken aback.

"Remus is hurt," Candice said, grabbing her friend's hand, looking anxious. "He needs help."

The adults were silent for a moment; then Taina threw an ugly look at Samantha.

"This isn't over," she said, and turned to approach her sister.

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Candice stared at the wall, bored out of her mind. It had been three days since the Jones' had discovered Remus' condition and Candice had been confined to her room ever since. She sighed and lay on the bed, now turning her gaze to the ceiling. She had been contemplating a brief escape for the past few days, but everyone needed to be out of the house for her to do so.

What was today? Candice glanced at her calendar. The date was July 15th; Taina and Trevor had gone to Diagon Alley to get school supplies for Hogwarts. Her brow furrowed as she stretched her senses through the rest of the house. Her brother, David, was in the kitchen with Mrs. Bones, who had given up trying to put David down for a nap. The caretaker, herself, was very tired.

Candice wondered for a moment if she could risk sneaking outside. Finally deciding to do so, she climbed out of bed and approached her window, which opened automatically. Carefully, Candice climbed onto the sill and looked down at the ground. She frowned, wondering if her magic would allow her to fall or not. Well, she decided nervously, it's worth a shot. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself out of the window and braced herself for a crash landing as she went down. When she finally felt something solid underneath her feet, Candice opened her eyes slowly. Looking down, she found herself on the ground, standing upright. Beaming, she rushed out of her yard and stepped around the hedge that separated her yard from the Lupins'.

Anxiety struck her suddenly, thinking of the Lupins. Were they alright? Candice had seen neither hide nor hair of Samantha or Remus during the past few days. The house looks deserted, she mused as she reached the door.

_Knock; knock; knock. _

She stepped back and waited to see if the door would open. No answer. Frowning, she knocked on the door again. Still no answer. Beginning to get worried, Candice closed her eyes and tried to stretch her senses into the house. Just as her senses began to creep through the door, she heard the sound of a lock unlocking and saw the door open.

Samantha stood in the doorway, looking very tired but surprised to see the child on her doorstep.

"Candice?" she asked in surprise, stepping out onto the porch. Candice noticed that a slightly guilty look crossed her face.

Candice smiled nervously. "Hi Samantha; how is Remus?"

"He's alright," Samantha said, now giving her a curious look. "He's upstairs. Would you like to see him?"

At Candice's eager nod, Samantha let her inside.

"He hasn't been feeling well," Samantha warned her. "Be careful when you go up, okay?"

Candice assured her that she would and bounded up the stairs.

"Remus?" she called once she reached his closed bedroom door. She knocked and stepped back.

"Come in," she heard him call.

Smiling, Candice opened the door and peered inside.

Remus was sitting on his bed, a book in his lap. He dropped it in surprise upon seeing his friend. "Candy? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, silly." Candice grinned and soon joined him on his bed. "How are you?" she asked, looking concerned. "Your mother said that you weren't feeling well."

Remus shrugged and set his book aside. "I haven't been," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "The full moon makes me really tired, but I should be feeling better in a few days."

Candice beamed. "That's wonderful!"

"What about you?" Remus asked.

Candice shrugged. "Mrs. Bones is as scary as always." She crinkled her nose. "She makes me stay in my room all day and makes me eat soup."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You snuck out again?" he asked, exasperated.

Candice shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I found out that I can float from really high places."

Remus sighed. "Candy, if you're caught sneaking out when you're being punished, you could get into big trouble!"

"I don't care," Candice argued. "I wanted to see you."

Remus bit his lip. "Candy-"

"What's so bad about seeing my best friend?" she asked him furiously. "I hate being stuck in my room all day! It's so boring. Taina and Trevor went to Diagon Alley today and I couldn't go with them because I'm grounded!"

"She's worried about you Candy," Remus argued back. "She's worried because of that night! If you weren't an Egam, who knows what could have happened!"

For once, Candice had no response. She merely shrugged and looked down at the old-looking book on her friend's bed. "What's that?" she asked, carefully picking it up and glancing at the title: _Werewolves and Their Masters_.

"Oh, my Mum let me borrow it. It's about the kind of beings that can master werewolves," Remus explained as Candice opened the aged book.

"What kind of beings are those?" Candice asked, surprised.

"Mages and Egam."

Candice's head snapped up, eyes slightly wide. "What?"

"There's something called a Connection." Remus frowned slightly. "I don't really understand it, but it's a way that an Egam or Mage controls a werewolf."

Frowning, Candice looked down at the book and began flipping through it until an incantation caught her eye. "_Algamozan_." She murmured softly, her eyes scanning the explanation beneath.

_Connection_

Algamozan_, or The Merging Charm (commonly known as the Connection Spell) was created by a powerful Mage, Master Magadoga in 1500 A.D. Though not much is known about this Mage, he is noted for being the man who created the _Algamozan Charm_. Mistress Golonka was noted for being the first Egam to successfully have the spell used on herself in 1625 A.D. When the spell is cast by a third party, the Mage and his werewolf become one soul. The werewolf inherits the Mage's powers, but cannot use them by himself. He may only help to strengthen the powers of his master or mistress, therefore becoming a slave to their Connector. Once the Connection has begun, it can never be broken. The only one powerful enough to break the connection purposely is the Mage or Egam, for their powers are greater than that of their slave's. Because the two share one soul, however, breaking the connection could prove fatal to either or both parties. Masters have been known, however, to break the connection just before being killed themselves to try to spare the life of their Slave. However, that sacrifice is usually fatal to the Slave. To be sure that both parties are to stay alive, however, both Master and Slave must monitor the other to be sure the other stays alive. If one party is killed, the other may die. However, the killed party depends on who is the stronger of the two. Typically, the Master was killed to ensure that the Slave would also be killed. If the Slave was killed, the Master had a chance to survive._

_When a werewolf meets and Egam or a Mage, it will not attack them, but succumb to them and listen to any orders they give. Not long after the initial meeting, the Mage (or Egam) and the werewolf must connect to lessen the pain of merging their souls. Once Connected, the parties are able to speak telepathically and have a sense of knowing when the other is ill, injured or in danger. Mages and Egam are able to enter their own soul, and Werewolves, once Connected to their masters, will be able to do the same. Should a Mage (or Egam) be killed and if the werewolf lives on, the deceased Master may return in the amount of years that their age was when he or she died. The only recorded incident of this happening was Yalmen the Brave, when he died in battle at the age of sixteen and his werewolf lived for another sixteen years. The day Yalmen died was the day he returned to finish the battle that had taken his life. However, when his Slave died three years later, his newly formed body was not fit to survive the death of his Slave, so he too, died._

_If a Master does not want their werewolf to know what they are doing or how they feel, they are able to put a Wall in the middle of their soul, and the Slave is able to do the same thing. Though the two share the same soul, there is a portion of the soul that the Master or Slave claim as their own that they may escape to, to keep their innermost thoughts or desires. It is basically a "safe" to keep anything they do not want their Connector to know about._

_A Connection is a lifelong decision, and breaking it could be the end of both Master and Servant._

"I don't understand this," she said and Remus shook his head.

"Me neither. I just know that the spell is used for the Connection."

Candice frowned down at the book. "So, if we Connect, we share a soul?" She looked up. "What's a soul?"

"I think it's what makes us live," Remus said.

Candice reread the explanation, but it still didn't make sense. "_When a werewolf meets and Egam or a Mage, it will not attack them, but succumb to them and listen to any orders they give._" Candice read aloud, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"I asked my Mum about that. She said that when a werewolf meets its Mage for the first time, it listens to whatever they tell them and do not attack them."

"Is that what happened a few days ago?"

"According to what my Mum told me, yes." Remus said, peering at the book.

Candice's brow furrowed. "I don't like the sound of that." She said quietly, setting the book aside, but not closing it. "Master and Slave? It doesn't make any sense."

"My Mum said that she talked to Taina and Mrs. Bones about the Connection," Remus said suddenly, biting his lip. "They said that we couldn't Connect, even though Mum said that we were meant to."

"How can she tell? Was it because you listened to me when you were a werewolf?"

Remus nodded.

Candice gave the book an uneasy glance, and then looked up at him. "Then I guess we can't." She said quietly.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Lily and Petunia**

"Tuney!"

Petunia Evans looked up from brushing her doll's hair.

"Tuney, guess what?" Her seven year old sister, Lily, rushed over to her, grinning from ear to ear.

"What, Lily?" Petunia asked crossly, setting her doll aside delicately.

Lily's green eyes were gleaming excitedly as she dropped down beside her sister. "Tuney, watch this!" Lily grabbed a stick that lay on the ground and she held it flat in her palm.

Puzzled, Petunia watched as Lily stared at the stick in deep concentration, for a few moments then blinked, looking surprised.

"Oh, very good," Petunia said sarcastically as her sister's face dropped in disappointment. "You've managed to make the stick into a stick. Well done, Lils."

"But…" Lily stared at the stick in confusion and humiliation as her sister shook her head, turning back to her dolls. "But Tuney," Lily argued, looking up from the stick desperately, "I did it earlier! I made a cup into something else! I really did."

"Sure, Lily," Petunia said dryly, picking up her doll and the hairbrush.

"Tuney!" Lily's voice squealed suddenly. "Tuney, look!"

Petunia looked and gasped, dropping her doll in surprise. The stick was slowly transforming into a large monarch butterfly before their very eyes. Petunia's mouth fell open as Lily released the butterfly, watching it fly away.

"But…" Petunia stared at her sister's delighted face. "How did you do that?"

"I dunno," Lily replied happily. "I just know that I can."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Lily!" Mrs. Evans shrieked from the kitchen one day. "Lily Evans, come here this instant!"

Lily and Petunia looked up from their teddy bear tea party.

"What did you do?" Petunia asked rather bluntly.

Lily shrugged and the girls excused themselves from their tea with their bears, Mr. Wobbles and Mr. Humphter.

"Mum?" Lily asked as she and Petunia entered the kitchen.

Mrs. Evans turned to her daughter, looking fierce. "Lily Evans, what is the meaning of this?" she pointed to a teacup, which was rapidly changing from a cup to a block of ice and back again.

Lily's eyes widened. "Oh, that's where that went!" She exclaimed. "I'd forgotten!"

"Did you change the cup into a block of ice?" Mrs. Evans crossed her arms.

Lily nodded. "Uh-huh. I did it with magic."

Her mother sighed, remembering what Lily meant by "magic."

"Lils, please don't use your magic anymore." Her mother said.

Lily's mouth fell open. "What? But-"

"I mean it, Lily." Mrs. Evans stared at her beadily and Lily shrank back, frowning.

"Yes ma'am." She said quietly, her fingers crossed in her pocket.

0-0-0-0-0-**August**-0-0-0-0-0

**Remus and Candice**

"…_And then he greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed from this life_." Trevor closed the book and glanced at his sister, who had her head on his side, eyes drooping shut.

"Candy," he whispered, gently prodding her in the shoulder with his free arm, "you should go to bed."

Candice blinked and struggled to sit up.

"N-no," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely. "I'm awake. One more story, Trevor? Please?"

Trevor looked down at his baby sister, who had widened her eyes pathetically and was blinking them slowly, her bottom lip sticking out amusingly. He grinned and rewrapped his arm around her. "Okay, fine. What story do you want to read next?"

Candice opened her mouth to name another one when a voice behind them made them both jump.

"Time for bed, Candice. You can read another story in the morning."

"Taina," Candice whined, twisting around to stare at her stern sister.

"Don't whine; you're too old for that," Taina scolded gently as Candice leaned against her brother again. Taina sighed and looked at her brother. "Would you help me, Trevor?"

Trevor grinned and pulled his sister closer to him. "Aw, c'mon Tay, just one more story." He batted his eyes at her.

"I'm going to smack you with the book if you do that again Trevor Jones," Taina threatened, trying hard not to smile.

Trevor laughed and slowly got to his feet, making his sister whine.

"Tay's right, Candy," Trevor said, holding out his hand to take his sister's. "Time for bed."

Candice scowled and grabbed her brother's hand.

"Where's the bat?" Trevor asked Taina quietly as the three siblings headed for the stairwell.

Taina rolled her eyes. "Putting David to bed," she muttered back.

As if on cue, Mrs. Bones came down the stairs and glared at the two eldest siblings. "Why isn't she in bed yet?" she barked, pointing up the stairwell. "Put her to bed this instant!"

Candice stepped quickly behind her brother, glancing nervously up at her sister.

"That's where we were headed, Mrs. Bones." Taina replied coolly, holding out her hands to her sister.

Candice gratefully climbed into her sister's arms and Taina lifted her off of the ground.

"Put her down, she can walk herself," Mrs. Bones snapped irritably.

Taina opened her mouth to make a smart retort when they heard a crash coming from the entrance hall. The four froze, all staring in that direction.

"Stay here." Mrs. Bones ordered the children, pulling out her wand and marching down the hall.

When she rounded the corner, Taina and Trevor exchanged a nervous look. They heard Mrs. Bones' incoherent voice and a man's voice. Suddenly, Mrs. Bones gave a shriek, which was quickly stifled by a flash of green light. Taina almost dropped Candice in shock. Candice's scream was quickly stifled by her brother's hand.

"Take her upstairs." Taina whispered, pushing her sister into her brother's arms and pulling her own wand from her pocket.

"Taina-" Trevor began; his voice quite high.

Taina shot him a look then slowly began to walk down the hallway. When she was about halfway to the entrance, a man stepped into view, the hood of his black cloak hiding his face. All three siblings jumped and Trevor tightened his grip on his sister. The man's eyes were barely visible through the blackness of his hood.

"Ah," he said softly, his eyes flicking past Taina and lingering on her siblings. "I have heard of a child whose destiny was to be born an Egam. Is that the child?"

Taina froze; her eyes on this strange man. "My sister is not an Egam," she replied coldly, pointing her wand at the stranger. "Get out of our house."

The man chuckled darkly, and he drew his wand from his pocket. "I am afraid I cannot leave without the Egam," he replied quietly.

"She's not an Egam," Taina retorted, her voice shaking slightly.

The man's eyes gleamed and Taina had been certain she had seen red in his eyes. "Oh, really," he said quietly, pointing his wand past Taina and directly at Candice. "Well, then, if that child is not Candice Jones, the Egam I have been searching for, then she need not be alive."

Trevor looked ready to run, but Taina placed herself in front of the wand. "You won't touch her!"

The man's eyes narrowed. "_Crucio_."

Taina collapsed, writhing and screaming on the floor. Trevor and Candice stared in horror, neither sibling unable to do anything. The man lifted the curse and Taina lie on the ground, trembling.

"I will ask again, Jones," he whispered dangerously as the girl fought to catch her breath. "Give me the Egam."

"How do you know if it is her?" Trevor called from the end of the hallway, unable to keep the tremor out of his voice.

The man turned to him and he chuckled again. "Idiot boy," he said quietly, a smile in his voice. "Did you ever wonder what had happened to your parents after they left you?"

Taina and Trevor both stared at him, mouths agape. Candice looked at the man, very frightened and confused.

"They told me where you were," he continued quietly as Taina scrambled to her feet, gripping her wand tightly.

"You liar," she panted, staring at the man with a mixture of hate and fear on her face.

The man's eyes gleamed again. "Am I?" He whispered and pointed his wand at her.

"Trevor – RUN!" Taina screamed, pointing her own wand at the stranger just as a flash of green light surrounded her.

"No! Taina!" Trevor screamed as his sister's body hit the ground.

The man fixed his eyes on the siblings, who were now backing away. "Give me the child," the man hissed, sounding very much like a snake as he pointed his wand at Trevor.

"No!" Trevor growled, setting his sister down and pulling her behind him.

The man was closer now, and they could see him smirking. "No, Jones?" he sneered, the tip of his wand pointed directly between Trevor's eyes. "Tell me, would you like yourself and that brat upstairs to end up like your sister?"

It was then that Trevor could hear his five year old brother crying in his bedroom.

Candice peered out from behind her brother, her eyes wide in fear.

Trevor stared defiantly up at the man, who smirked once again.

"Very well," The man whispered and his wand tip glowed green.

Trevor gasped and stumbled backwards when suddenly a large, white jet of light hit the man in the chest, sending him flying across the room. He hit the opposite wall and slid down it, stunned for the moment. Trevor breathed deeply, both in relief and shock as he glanced down at his sister, who was bleeding profusely from her palms. She stared at what she had done with wide eyes, not even seeming to realize the injury she had given herself. Trevor turned back to the man, who was now on his feet. His hood had fallen away and they were looking at a strikingly handsome young man with dark hair and dark eyes, but had an evil aura.

He opened his mouth to speak when a voice called, "Taina? Trevor? Are you-?"

It was Samantha's voice. She broke off with a gasp and Trevor flinched, knowing that she had just stumbled upon the body of Mrs. Bones.

"Taina? Trevor?" Her voice was now very shaky. "Where are you? Are you all alright?"

The man turned back to the siblings and smirked at them. "I _will_ be back," he said quietly and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

The siblings stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where he had vanished.

Samantha, her wand drawn, and Remus came into view. As Samantha opened her mouth to speak, her eyes fell on a body on the floor and she gasped, placed her hand over her mouth as tears pricked her eyes.

Remus quickly looked up at his friend, who was pale and looked as though she was suddenly realizing what had just happened.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It was twelve days from September 1st. At exactly eleven o'clock, students would be boarding the train for the Hogwarts Express.

All of the students, except two.

Candice sat on her front porch steps, holding a thick book that she had gotten for her birthday that year. _The Tales of the Beadle and the Bard_ lie in her lap, small teardrops now stained the cover of the book. Candice blinked, staring unseeingly at the book as another tear dripped onto it from her small nose. Professor Dumbledore of Hogwarts School was here, again, discussing the tragedy with Samantha. He had kindly asked Candice if she had wanted to give them any more information, but she declined. She wasn't ready to talk about what had happened yet. Resting her head on the book, Candice closed her eyes. Had it really only been two days ago that she had lost her sister? The image of Taina's lifeless body on the floor flashed so vividly in her mind that it was all Candice could do to not release a scream of anguish that threatened to escape her.

Taina was dead.

For some reason, she couldn't stomach the words. Every time she thought about it, she felt sick to her stomach. Taina would never enter her final year at Hogwarts. Taina would never celebrate her seventeenth birthday, nor would she ever work at Hogsmeade to save up for an apartment or flat. Candice wondered vaguely if her boyfriend, Michael, had been told, or if any of her friends at school knew about what had happened. Keeping her eyes closed, Candice thought about what had happened even more recently with her brothers.

_She walked into her little brother's room in a kind of trance. Aurors had been here to find out exactly what had happened and had asked Trevor and Candice all kinds of questions about the killer. Candice was glad to, at last, get away from it all. She entered David's room to find her older brother sitting next to his brother's bed, staring at him with a closed expression on his pale face. _

"_Trevor?" Candice asked weakly, making her brother look up. _

_His normally bright brown eyes looked dark and stormy. "Oh, it's you." He turned away, turning his gaze to his brother again. _

_Candice bit her lip, staring at her brother. _

"_Trevor?" _

"_Hmm?" _

"_Are you mad at me?" _

_Trevor didn't look up at her. "No, I'm not," he mumbled. _

_Candice stayed where she was,, staring helplessly at Trevor. _

_Suddenly, he looked up. "I'm leaving," he said. _

_Candice frowned slightly. "Where are you going?" _

"_I don't know. Away. Anywhere but here." He stood and crossed the room, passing his sister. He paused suddenly, then slowly turned to her. _

"_That man, the one who killed Taina," he said slowly, staring at his sister, "was after you." _

_Candice just looked at him. _

_There was comprehension dawning in his eyes. "He said he'd be back for you. If I stay here, I'll be killed. So will David." He glanced over at his brother's bed, then glared at his sister. "If we stay with you," he growled, suddenly, "we'll die. Mum and Dad left because of you; Taina and Mrs. Bones died because of_ you_." _

"_That's not true!" the girl cried, but her brother fixed her with dark eyes. _

"_Isn't it?" he asked quietly. _

_Candice stared at him in shock. _

_Trevor glared at her one last time and left the room._

"Candy?" Candice scrubbed the back of her hand over her face and looked up at Remus, who stood in front of her sadly.

"Oh, hi Remus," she mumbled, looking back down at the book.

Remus sat beside her on the step in silence. "Where are your brothers?" he asked quietly.

Candice bit her lip, tears streaming down her face again. "G-gone," she choked out. "T-they left early this morning." She then proceeded to tell Remus what had happened through her tears.

Remus wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed, holding back his own tears. The children sat for a long time, grieving over what had happened in the past few days. Candice had finally fallen asleep on Remus' shoulder as Dumbledore and Samantha approached the children at last.

"Candy?" Samantha whispered, gently shaking the girl awake.

Candice opened her eyes, blinking in the bright sunshine.

Samantha smiled kindly, her own face pale and slightly tear-stained. "Candy, sweetie, would you like to stay with us?"

Candice stared at her in slight confusion before she clarified, "Remus and me, I mean. Would you like to stay with us for now?"

Candice shrugged. "Sure, I guess," she mumbled.

Dumbledore smiled. "Excellent," he said gently, "I shall alert the Ministry of your decision and we shall get the proper paperwork for the foster care."

Samantha nodded and stood up.

Candice lay her head back down on Remus' shoulder and she closed her eyes, feeling a fresh wave of tears overcome her.

0-0-0-0-0-0-**September**-0-0-0-0-0-0

"This should have been done immediately," Samantha muttered, her eyes scanning page 114 of _Werewolves and Their Masters._ "Not two months later."

She glanced over the top of her book at her son and her new charge, who were facing each other with their fingers laced together, the palms of their hands touching each other's. Samantha turned her gaze back to the book.

"This is the procedure," she began in a slightly shaky voice, conjuring up a razor. "Remus, I will make a small cut on your bite and Candy, I will reopen the cut on your palm. You will press your palm to Remus' shoulder so that the blood mixes and I will say the incantation. Mind you, this will be very painful. The longer you take to Connect, the more painful it will be. Do you understand?"

The children nodded in silence.

"Alright; you two understand the risks of this Connection and you understand what exactly you will be able to do?"

Another set of nods. Samantha felt a sense of foreboding.

"Alright – Remus, dear, come here."

Remus shifted his upper body slightly so that his mother could easily press the razor to his shoulder. Samantha bit her lip and, after hesitating for a moment, made an incision on his shoulder about an inch long. Remus let out a low growl of pain and Samantha pulled the razor away, looking concerned and guilty.

"I'm sorry Remus, I -"

"It's okay Mum," Remus replied through gritted teeth.

Samantha bit her lip again and tapped the razor with her wand, sterilizing it. She then turned to Candice, who fixed her with a blank stare.

"I need your hand, dear," Samantha said weakly.

Candice silently detached her hand from Remus' and let Samantha reopen her wound without complaint. Samantha stared at her in concern when the girl didn't so much as flinch when the razor pierced her skin. She cleared her throat and stepped back, vanishing the razor as she did so.

"Candice, place your palm to his shoulder," she said quietly, raising her wand.

Candice met Remus' eyes and he nodded. She stretched out her palm and pressed it against Remus' shoulder as Samantha murmured, "_Algamozan_."

Almost at once, Candice and Remus both felt the sensation of blood gushing into their bodies through the wounds. At the same time, Remus and Candice gasped in pain, but neither of them could separate as the wounds sealed together. White light flashed before their eyes, blinding them both. Remus cried out in pain as an amazing, foreign, power filled him. As pleasurable as it felt to have power to do as he pleased, it was, at the same time, extremely painful. He felt as though his every being would explode from the amount of power he suddenly held.

Candice, in the mean time, had been detached from her friend and watched in pain and horror as her hands turned into clawed paws. She tried to scream from the pain of her bones breaking and muscles tearing, but her voice was swallowed in the howl that escaped her now-wolf form. Without warning, a million thoughts and memories scurried through her brain before she could make sense of any of them. With the pain and dizziness she felt from the Connection, her body gave way and she fell into blackness.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_Candy? _

The girl opened her eyes, feeling suddenly very strange. She could feel another presence around her, almost as though it were inside her. She blinked and squinted up at a figure sitting at her bedside. Remus sat there, looking ill and tired.

_Are you okay? _

She stared at him for a moment then slowly tried to sit up. A pain lashed dangerously through her abdomen and she heard two people gasp. Candice wrapped her arms around her stomach from the pain as Remus doubled up, groaning. Her eyes widened, watching as his face paled and contorted from the pain.

_Can you feel it?_ She thought as she opened her mouth to speak.

He glanced at her and nodded.

_This is weird. _

Remus' eyes met hers and she nodded in agreement. Candice knew, right then, that everything would be different between them. Their lives had been altered by the Fates and they would just have to learn how to dance with this.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Author's Note:** WHEW! That's done! I started this last week Wednesday, actually, and I've been too busy to get it done sooner than today.

Okay, I know this chapter might be overwhelming, but this is the longest chapter I've ever done. Once I get more into the story, the chapters will be longer, I promise. Thank you to everyone who sat through this and read the whole thing. I'm sorry it was so long, but all of this is pretty important to what will happen later.


	7. What Kind of Family is This?

Author's Notes: I don't know what kind of town Hereford is, but I liked the way the name of the town sounded, so I chose it.

I'm sorry I haven't updated _What If? – The Afterlife_ yet. I know I said I would, and its about a week or so late, but I've had finals and a lot of AP English homework. I should have the last chapter up this week because I don't have school. Thanks for being so patient!

I know that this chapter isn't as long as the last chapter, but it has important things in it. The chapters will get longer once the kids get their letters.

So, we're meeting some new characters and checking up on some old ones! Enjoy!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Chapter Seven:

What Kind of Family is This?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**Peter**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

There was a small house in the middle of the forest, just outside of Hereford. Near the house was a small lake, where a young boy sat apprehensively by the water's edge, holding out a stick with a long string attached to it.

"Jaesa?" the boy called nervously, his small watery eyes flicking over his shoulder. "Jaesa?"

The girl in question, his sister, looked up, annoyed. "Honestly Peter, just wait!"

"But-"

"You're not going to be eaten by a guppy."

Peter blanched and turned back to the lake, still looking anxious.

"You know, if we had to survive on fishing to eat," came a drawling voice, "we'd have starved to death by now."

Peter bit his lip and looked up. His brother, Derek, walked up behind Peter and sneered at him.

"I know why you can't catch anything, Peter." He smirked, his eyes tracing over his brother's pudgy form. "You're so damn fat you scare them away. They think you're a larger fish that's going to squash them."

"Derek! Leave him alone." Jaesa stood, glaring at her brother.

Derek laughed loudly. "What are either of you going to do about it?" He grinned maliciously. "Are you going to go to Mum and Dad?"

Jaesa clenched her fists and set her jaw. "He's worth twelve of you Derek," she hissed, approaching him and getting right into his face. "You're nothing but a no-good dirty scoundrel; an asshole. You're horrible to Pete for no good reason."

"Why the hell should I be nice to him?" Derek shot back. "He's an ass-wipe who can't defend himself."

"And you think you're such a hard-ass, do you?"

Peter sighed as his siblings went back and forth like this.

Derek and Jaesa were twins, but couldn't be any more alike than night was from day.

Derek was much like their father; tall, muscular and had a bad temper. He was loud and obnoxious and was a bully who liked to demean those smaller than him, particularly Peter.

Jaesa was shorter, leaner and had a kind spirit. She was quiet and bookish, but that didn't mean that she couldn't stand and fight when needed. Jaesa was braver than Peter and always defended him.

Peter himself was, as well, different from his siblings. Though being four years younger than his siblings, Peter was quite short and hadn't seemed to have been able to get rid of his baby fat. Jaesa and Derek had large green eyes, and yet Peter's eyes were smaller and blue. He hated being teased and was afraid of anyone bigger than him, particularly his brother. If Derek was mean enough or hurt him enough, Peter would do whatever his brother wanted him to.

The children were home schooled, so they didn't really have friends. They couldn't go to the village as often as they would have liked, nor did they have any neighbors on their land. In fact, the closest neighbor was on the outskirts of town, and that was too far of a drive.

Their parents, Frank and Hess Pettigrew, were never home, as they were always at work, giving Derek, the eldest boy, full responsibility and free reign on the house.

"You're a horrible person!" Jaesa snapped, glaring at her twin, who smirked once again.

"It's not my fault he's a-"

BANG!

A thick branch fell to the ground just behind Derek, making both twins jump.

"YOU!" Derek snarled, rounding on his brother, who looked just as shocked as his siblings. "YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU MADE THAT BRANCH TRY TO-"

"Derek, he hasn't done anything!" Jaesa yelled, "Just leave him be!"

"Our freak of a brother is always doing stuff like that!" Derek shouted back, shooting a death-glare at his brother, who shrank away.

"Don't call him a freak!"

Angry, Derek turned on his heel and stormed from the yard.

Jaesa stared after him, breathing deeply, her eyes flashing menacingly.

"He's right." Peter cast his eyes downward, twisting the stick in his hand. "I'm nothing but a-"

"Peter, don't you listen to him!" Jaesa shrieked, turning to him sharply.

Her eyes softened when Peter bit his lip. She sighed and walked over to him.

"He's wrong, Peter," Jaesa said, much more quietly, her eyes troubled. "Derek has a lot of growing up to do and -"

"He shouldn't take it out on me," Peter said timidly.

"I _know_." Jaesa sat next to him and wrapped an arm around her little brother. "Derek has his own problems."

_She's making excuses again_, Peter thought sadly. Jaesa always made excuses for her brothers in attempt to keep the peace.

"One day, Derek will pay," Peter said, slapping the water with his stick savagely. "One day he will; he and all bullies will pay."

He was so lost in thoughts of revenge that he didn't see his sister's sad eyes gazing at him.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**Sirius**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Mary! Mary wait!"

Sirius opened his eyes groggily as voices floated through his open window.

"Mary!"

Sirius sat up slowly and glanced at the open window. He shivered as a chilled breeze blew into the room, also blowing in snowflakes. It was so cold. If it was snowing, why was the window open? Sirius frowned and climbed out of bed, almost yelping with the shock of his bare foot touching the icy floor. Quickly, Sirius made his way to the window and gazed out onto the ground, which was covered with a blanket of snow. He leaned against the sill, watching a pair of children play outside. He wondered if the girl was Mary, the name he had heard earlier. He watched the girl laugh and throw a handful of snow at the boy who was chasing her. The boy laughed, grabbing her arm and the two tumbled down into the snow. Sirius felt something very strange; something he had never felt before. His heart ached as he watched these children play and he suddenly wished he was down there with them.

'_Are_ _they Muggles_?' Sirius wondered. If they were, he would not play with them because he did not want to dirty himself with them, not only that, but his mother would flay him alive.

But if they weren't…

He shook his head and closed the window, rubbing his arms to keep himself warm. Sirius took a few steps away from the window, then glanced over his shoulder at the glass, where he could still see Mary and her friend playing.

Quickly coming to a decision, Sirius pulled off his pajamas and began to dress warmly, glancing occasionally out of the window to make sure that the children were still there. They were; the girl had just hit her companion in the face with a large snowball.

Sirius crept quietly down the stairs, unsure if anyone was awake in the house. The bottom stair creaked loudly and Sirius froze, listening intently for any sound of people coming through the hallways. The dark house made no sound, so Sirius quickly and quietly rushed into the entrance hall and pulled the door open. The bitter cold hit him hard in the face, making Sirius grit his teeth against the cold stinging his eyes and nose. A snowball landed at his feet as he pulled the door shut behind him.

As Sirius stepped out off of his porch and onto the sidewalk, the girl looked up. She was a smaller girl with a red hat on her brown head and a scarf that almost covered her petite mouth. The boy standing next to her was slightly taller and had hair that was just as brown as hers was. Wide brown eyes shone from his face, rosy with cold.

"Who are you?" The boy asked bluntly, dropping the snowball he held in his hand.

Sirius tightened his jacket slightly, feeling very nervous. He had never spoken to children that were his age, save his brother.

"I'm Sirius," he said, awkwardly.

The boy stared at him.

"You're serious?" he asked, confused.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, like the star, you know."

The children stared at him in confusion. Sirius felt his face growing hot; he should never have come.

"I'm Mary," piped up the girl, coming to the boy's side. "This is my brother, Nathan."

"Nate," the boy corrected, eying Sirius with suspicion and interest.

"Hi," Sirius said, shifting from one foot to the other. "Umm... can I join you?"

Nate and Mary looked at him in surprise, then at each other.

"Sure." Nate shrugged and bent to pick up some snow.

"How old are you, Sirius?" Mary asked as the children scooped up snow and packed it into balls.

"I'm nine," Sirius said, squeezing his snowball too hard and watching it break in his hands. "I'll be ten in April."

Mary's face brightened. "So will I! What day is your birthday?"

A smile spread across his face. He was about to answer when he suddenly felt something smack against his arm. He looked up, spotting Nate drawing his arm back, smirking.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!" Sirius argued, glaring at Nate.

"That's not my fault," Nate shouted back, throwing the snowball at Sirius' head.

Sirius ducked and furiously picked up some snow as he felt a snowball from Mary's direction hit his shoulder.

"Two against one isn't fair!" Sirius shouted, chucking a snowball at Nate but missing by a long shot.

The three children continued their furious snowball fight and were soon drenched and freezing with cold as they pelted snowballs at each other and Mary dragged the boys down into the snow. Sirius couldn't ever remember having more fun than he had ever had that day. It was around lunch time that Mary and Nate stopped and asked Sirius to accompany them home.

"D'you want to come over?" Nate asked eagerly. "Mum makes the best soup during the winter."

"Sure," Sirius replied, just as eagerly.

"Wonderful!" Mary smiled, grabbing Sirius' hand.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" A voice suddenly screeched, making all three children jump.

Sirius gulped and turned slowly on the spot. If Mrs. Black could breathe fire, she would be at that very moment. Her eyes were blazing with fury as she stared at her son.

"Sirius Orion Black," she began quietly, her voice trembling with every syllable, "get away from those filthy Muggles right now."

Sirius hesitated, then glanced apprehensively at his new friends. Mary gasped softly and stepped behind Sirius. Nathan however, stood bravely up to the woman.

"What did you call us?" He demanded.

Mrs. Black's eyes flashed. "A Muggle." she replied coldly. "A worthless piece of scum that is not even worth living."

Nate's face flushed in anger. Mrs. Black turned back to Sirius.

"Come here, boy." she said quietly.

Sirius looked at his friends, who were looking hurt, angry and scared.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, looking between them.

He turned away and slowly trudged his way through the snow. Once he reached his mother, Mrs. Black drew her hand sharply across her son's face, Sirius' head snapped to the side, making him lose his balance and fall into the snow.

"Get up," his mother snarled, pointing her wand threateningly at her son.

Sirius slowly raised himself up, trying hard not to look at his friends, both of whom he knew were looking at him in fear can confusion. He looked up at his mother, who had now turned her wand on his friends.

"No!" Sirius cried as a jet of light shot at both of his friends.

The first light hit Nate first and his eyes suddenly became unfocused. Mary's scream of fright was cut short as the second jet of light hit her and her eyes matched Nate's. Sirius stared in horror as his now-obliviated friends stood dazedly in the snow. Suddenly, his scarf tugged sharply at his throat, making him choke and stumble backwards. He glanced up at his mother, gasping for breath as Mrs. Black dragged him towards Number Twelve.

"You," she snarled, throwing him inside, "are just as bad as them! Worthless peice of scum - blood-traitor - shame of my flesh-!"

A purple jet of light hit Sirius in the stomach and he curled up in a ball, gasping in agony as the curse traveled through his bones. He could hear his mother screaming something, but every word she said curled together into an incoherent noise. Sirius' vision began to blur as all colors swirled together into blackness.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Sirius?"

Sirius moaned softly, his bones aching terribly.

"Sirius?"

Everything hurt. It hurt to move; to breathe; to think...

"Siri?"

A gentle touch on his arm made stars shoot in front of his eyes.

"Reg?" Sirius gasped weakly, opening his smarting eyes.

His seven-year-old brother stared at him, looking terrified.

"Siri... you didn't really play with Muggles, did you...?" Reg asked timidly.

"Yeah..." Sirius whispered, his eyes filling with tears from the pain.

"Did they try to eat you?"

Sirius held his brother's eyes for a moment. Something suddenly floated into his mind; a reasonable voice from long ago suddenly came to him: "A person is defined by their tolerance of others and their personality, not their rank of blood."

He couldn't believe it. Andy had been right all along.

"No," Sirius mumbled, trying to sit up, but not without crying out in pain. "They were... _normal_ Reg."

"But-"

"They were kids... like us. They weren't the monsters mum and dad made them out to be."

Sirius never heard Regulus' response. His mind blacked out before he could register anything after his last sentence.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**James and Jessica**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"We have a cat?" Jessica's eyes widened in delight as Sarah Potter opened the cat-carrier, revealing a beautiful calico cat.

"Not exactly," Sarah said slowly as the cat cautiously stepped out of the carrier. "We're babysitting her for a while Mrs. Hemmell visits her son in Germany."

"She's beautiful!" Jessica gushed kneeling down for a closer look. "Does she have a name?"

"Her name is Lily," Sarah replied. She glanced at the doorway and smiled. "Well, come here, James. Don't you want to see the kitty?"

James frowned from where he stood, watching the commotion from the doorway.

"Why? It's just a cat."

"Oh, come on James," came Joe's deep chuckle from behind. "I thought you liked animals."

"I do," James argued, scowling at the graceful animal, "but it's a Muggle animal, Dad. It's not interesting at all – not like Kneazles."

"Oh, give it a try, Jamie. You might like it."

Joe placed his hands on his son's shoulders and steered him towards the cat. Jessica was giggling, stroking the cat's sleek fur. James stared at the cat, which rubbed its head against Jessica's knee.

"Isn't she gorgeous, James?" Jessica asked, grinning at the calico.

James shrugged. He had to admit, the cat was quite beautiful.

"She's okay, I guess," James mumbled, not wanting to admit aloud that the cat was adorable. He slowly sat on the ground and held out his hand, waiting for it to come to him. The cat purred loudly and fixed her yellow eyes on him. James stared back and she blinked lazily, making her way over to him and sniffing the tips of his fingers. Once James had met her approval, Lily rubbed her nose against his hand. James found it hard not to smile as her fur brushed gently against his skin.

"Well, I guess she's kind of cute," James admitted as Lily continued to purr.

"Can we get a cat?" Jessica asked eagerly.

Sarah and Joe gave each other an exasperated look.

"Maybe," Sarah said finally, smiling at her niece.

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"James - Stop saying that you didn't do it!" Jessica shouted, jumping up off of her bed. She glared fiercely at her cousin, who had she had suspected set a rat loose in her room.

"I didn't do anything," James yelled back, clenching his fists. "It's not my fault that a stupid rat got inside!"

Jessica's face turned red with fury and she clenched her fists as hard as she could. Suddenly, Lily the cat started snarling dangerously, jumping down from Jessica's bed and began hissing at James. James' gaze went from his irate cousin to the suddenly possessed cat on the floor. James' eyes widened slightly and he took a step back.

"Call her off," James said sharply, giving his cousin a stern look. "Make her stop."

Jessica's eyes narrowed. "Stop what?" she snapped, glancing at the cat.

As she did so, Lily leaped at James with a loud scream and before the boy could move, she had attached herself to his chest and started tearing at his clothes and face. James screamed, backing into the wall as the cat viciously scratched at him with her claws. Jessica, panicked, ran at her cousin and tried to grab the cat, all the while screaming for her aunt and uncle. Once Jessica touched the cat, Lily whipped her head to the side and sank her teeth into Jessica's hand. Joe and Sarah quickly appeared on the scene.

"Oh my God!" Sarah gasped as Joe slashed his wand through the air and the cat was hit with a red light.

Lily froze and fell to the floor, stunned. James shakily slid down the wall, his chest bloody and shirt torn. Tearfully, Jessica backed away from him as guilt shot through her. James was injured because of her. Somehow, she had sent her feelings through the cat, making the cat attack her cousin. James was silent, his face stark white as he stared at the cat with a strange look in his eyes.

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"James?"

James looked up as Jessica came timidly into his room. He smiled weakly.

"Hey Jessie," he said, setting down the Quidditch magazine he had been reading.

"How are you feeling?"

Jessica looked as though she was about to cry, so James smiled gently and patted the bed, signaling for her to sit down next to him.

As Jessica did so, James said, "I'm okay. Mum's an amazing Healer, so I should be out of bed tomorrow. Have they taken the… that _thing_ home yet?"

Jessica nodded. "Yeah. Mrs. Hemmell just came back, so Aunt Sarah is over there."

They were quiet for a few minutes, looking down at the blankets. The girl looked up suddenly.

"James, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. That… that thing was insane."

"It attacked you because I was angry."

James shrugged. "Accidental magic. It can't really be helped."

Jessica's eyes saddened and she looked away. James sighed and touched her hand. Looking up, Jessica saw a ghost of James' old self in his eyes.

"So, I'm guessing you're not getting your cat?"

Jessica almost smiled at James' attempt to lighten the mood, but she shook her head.

"Not unless we can find a cat crossed with something less dangerous," she whispered.

James smiled sadly and leaned back against his headboard with a small wince.

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**Author's Note**: Derek's line, "What are either of you going to do about it?" didn't come out correctly on my word processor. The "_are_" had been underlined and the computer said that _is_ fit in that line. To me, it didn't make sense - What is either of you going to do about it? I dunno – is that right?

Don't you guys love the irony with the cat? This scene is in here for a reason, don't worry – it's not completely random.

Please review!


	8. More Discoveries

Author's Note: I am so sorry! It's been… what, almost a year now? I had writer's block for a while and also I started college this fall, so that was even less time to work on this. Once I get back into the game, update should be fairly regular (Especially during Christmas Break), and I might have another set of fics coming, but we'll see what happens with this one and What If. To those who are reading that, I am so terribly sorry that I've kept you waiting.

I can't believe I forgot Lily and Snape in the last chapter, so I'm putting them in this chapter, so this briefly spans two years. Those of you who have read book 7 will recognize this scene immediately (It's taken from the American version, pages 663-665). It is written from Severus' point of view, so it's a little different than Harry's. I'm not going to so Sev POV very much, I just thought it was appropriate here.

I'm almost done with the next chapter, so I should have that up within the next week or so.

I should be writing my Hamlet paper (due Tuesday), but this is much more fun.

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Chapter Eight:

Discoveries

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

1969

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Tuney!"

Severus lifted his head, setting down the book he had been reading. He stood, closed the book and listened. He heard laughing and, dropping the book, he followed the river until he came across a bridge. Near the bridge was a small park where two girls swung backward and forward on swings. Severus quickly crossed the bridge and hid behind a bush, his eyes fixed on the small red-haired girl. He watched as the girl's face became contorted in concentration as her swing started to go higher than her sister's.

"Tuney, watch me!"

"Lily, don't do it!" the eldest girl shrieked.

Ignoring her sister, Lily let go of the swing as soon as it reached it's highest point and flew off of the seat. Instead of crashing to the ground, she landed carefully on the ground, completely unharmed. Severus' eyes widened instantly.

Could she be…?

Her sister, Petunia, dug her heels into the ground, forcing her swing to stop. At once, she was on her feet, hands on her hips. "Mummy told you not to!"

Giggling, Lily turned to her sister. "But I'm fine."

Severus watched as Lily looked around. "Tuney, watch this. Look what I can do."

As Lily picked up a fallen tree flower, Petunia glanced around, looking anxious. Severus shrank down slightly behind his bush, making sure Petunia couldn't see him. When she seemed satisfied that she and Lily were alone, she turned a wary eye to her sister. Slowly, Petunia advanced.

When Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, Lily opened her hand and held it out. Severus peeked up over the bush to see the flower opening and closing it's petals as though it were a mouth.

"Stop it!" Petunia shrieked, taking a step back.

Lily frowned. "It's not hurting you," she said, closing her and around it and dropped it on the ground.

"It's not right," her sister insisted, but then she lowered her voice. "How do you do it?"

Before he knew it, Severus jumped to his feet. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

Shrieking, Petunia ran towards the swings. Lily stared at him, her green eyes startled, but she stood her ground.

"What's obvious?" she asked.

Severus approached her, toying with his fingers nervously. He glanced at Petunia, who was hovering by the swings. He lowered his voice: "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're… you're a witch."

Lily's mouth fell open as though she were offended. "_That's_ not a very nice thing to say to somebody," she huffed and, sticking her nose in the air, marched to her sister.

Severus flushed. "No!" He said quickly, rushing after Lily, almost flapping his arms in his distress. "You _are_," he insisted when Lily finally turned back to him, resting her hand on one of the poles of the swing set. "You _are_ a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one and I'm a wizard."

Petunia suddenly let out a shriek of laughter. Severus jumped at the suddenness of it, but he quickly stood his ground, setting his jaw as he waited for her to calm down.

"Wizard?" she sneered. "I know who _you_ are. You're that Snape boy. They live down Spinner's End by the river," she added, noticing her sister's puzzled look. She rounded on Severus. "Why have you been spying on us?"

Severus had been ready for some kind of reply from her. "I haven't been spying," he retorted, his eyes flashing. "I wouldn't spy on you, anyway; _you're_ a Muggle."

Severus knew she wouldn't know what the word meant, but she seemed offended anyway. "Come on Lily – we're leaving." Petunia commanded shrilly and stalked off. Lily threw one last glare in Severus' s direction before following her sister.

Helplessly, Severus watched the sisters walk away. That had not gone well at all. He had wanted to talk to Lily, make her see reason. He had not ever met a Muggle-born wizard and he wanted a change from all of the pureblood families. Severus sat on the ground, willing a blade of grass to turn a very dark shade of pink, then blue. As it turned a very strange orange color, he decided that he would not give up on Lily. He would make her see what she was meant to be and they would be friends – no matter how long it took.

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1970

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0-0-0-0-**Remus and Candice**-0-0-0-0

Remus rolled over onto his back, his eyes open. The rain beat on the window pane, strangely comforting the young boy. Glancing at the wet glass, Remus sat up and, pulling his blankets over his shoulders, stood quietly approached the window. As he stared absentmindedly out at the dark Muggle street, Remus felt his stomach begin to knot up. The boy grit his teeth as his eyes began to smart with tears.

Remus wasn't one to cry, but his mother had fallen ill just after his tenth birthday three weeks prior. She had gone to St. Mungo's to get her cold checked out, and discovered that she carried a rare disease. Remus didn't know the details, but he knew that her mother had died of it. He didn't know how advanced her disease was, but he was certain that his mother may not make it to thirty.

Finally, he turned back to his bed and lay back down, staring at the ceiling as tears trickled down his cheeks. He had already lost his father and brother because of _his_ disease; was he going to lose his mother as well, because of _hers_?

He sniffled and rolled onto his side, facing the wall. The rain beat harder on the glass above his bed as he tried to push aside his worries.

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_Remus. _

The young werewolf groaned, pulling his covers back over his head.

_Remus. _

The boy muttered incoherently, drifting somewhere between sleep and consciousness. He vaguely felt a presence next to his body.

_Remus. _

"What?" Remus mumbled, sitting up slowly and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

What he saw made him nearly jump out of his skin. A black figure hovered just centimeters above the linens of his bed.

"Who - what -?" He pushed the blankets away, suddenly wide awake.

_Remus, it's me_.

Remus stared at the figure and realized that it has a distinct human shape.

"Candice?" he whispered, reaching for the round object he took to be Candice's head. His hand went through the center of it and he saw the figure twitch as though harmed.

_That's my nose._ He heard Candice's voice say.

Hesitantly, Remus pulled his hand back and lay down on his side, staring at the figure. If he looked close enough, he could make out her facial features.

"How on earth did you do that?" he whispered, propping himself up on his elbow.

_I thought about you as hard as I could_, Candice replied, _and felt that you needed me. I suppose it could work either way – such as if I really need you_.

Remus raised his eyebrows and smiled his worries about his mother forgotten for the moment.

"So, this is another thing we can do with the Connection?"

_Yes. Do you want to try this out tomorrow? We'll scare your mother though. You know how she reacts whenever we discover something new. _

Remus stared at her figure for a moment then smiled. "Yeah, let's do it."

0-0-0-0-**James and Jessica**-0-0-0-0

"JAAAMES!"

James laughed quietly from his hiding place on the stairs. He heard his cousin's furious shriek from the next room and knew she had walked under the appropriate door. Soon, came the sound of stomping feet and Jessica appeared at the top of the stairs, breathing heavily in her anger, a bucket resting on her head like a hat. James howled with laughter as paint dripped from Jessica's hair, clothes and face. Livid, Jessica bounded down the stairs after him.

"JAMES POTTER! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

"Jessie, have a sense of humor," James teased, laughing as he rounded the corner.

He heard her scream of anger and laughed even harder. His laughter came to an abrupt halt when he crashed headlong into a pair of legs.

"Woah there, Jamie, what's the matter?" Came a deep voice above him.

James gulped and looked up into his father's puzzled face.

Joe Potter's face turned from puzzlement to shock as his niece stormed in, covered in purple paint. His gaze slid down to his son, who looked suddenly very nervous.

"James..." he began in a stern voice but was cut off by his wife entering the room, carrying a tray of tea.

"Joseph?" she frowned, her eyes sliding from her husband and son to her niece in the doorway. She gasped, setting the tray down.

"Jessie, what happened?"

Before Jessica could answer, Sarah's eyes fell on James.

The boy gulped as his mother's face began to turn red in anger.

"James Allen Potter..." she said in a low, dangerous voice.

Joe, sensing danger, quickly detached himself from James and went to his niece's side. "Come, Jessie." He smiled weakly, grabbing his niece's arm. "Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?"

The two exited from the room as they heard Sarah's voice explode, yelling at James about causing constant mayhem and some other things they couldn't catch.

"Let's see if we can't clean up this mess… and maybe give James a taste of his own medicine, hmm?" Joe winked at his disgruntled niece, who brightened considerably. He waved his wand but nothing happened. He frowned, puzzled as he muttered the spell. Nothing. Jessica's face fell as her uncle put away his wand and took her hand.

"It looks like you're going to have to clean up the Muggle way," he told her gently, leading her into her room. "James has put some spell on the paint to make it withstand magic."

"He's so mean." Jessica pouted as her uncle rummaged through her drawers.

Joe smiled, pulling out a spare change of clothes. "James doesn't mean to hurt you," he reasoned, handing her the clean outfit. "He does it all in fun." He turned to her. "Now, go wash up, Jessie. I'm going to make sure your aunt hasn't killed James."

"I sure hope she has." Jessica grinned at him and headed towards the bathroom.

Joe smiled sadly after her. Times like this reminded him of when he was a child with Jessica's mother, Jane. He had been older than Jane by a year and, like James, had always pulled pranks for the fun of it, just to irritate his sister. And, he supposed, to get back at him, she had always insisted on calling him "Joey," which had been a nickname he had had before attending Hogwarts.

_Jessica_, Joe thought, slowly walking down the stairs, _looks exactly like Jane, just without the Potter hair_. He grinned slightly. If you were a Potter -especially a male- you had hair that stuck up all over the place. Jane's hair was an exception, as it lay flat (Joe supposed she had gotten her hair from their mother's side of the family). Jessica's hair was much like her father's - rich brown, thick and lay flat most of the time. A stab of pain shot through him as he reached the bottom step as he thought of Jane and Markus. He missed Jane so much; his baby sister who had been taken away from him almost nine years ago. He entered the kitchen, which, to his surprise, was very quiet except for the sounds of water and the gentle clinking of glass.

"Sarah?" He called softly, peering around the room.

James gave him a disgruntled look from the sink where he was washing the dishes. Sarah, on the other hand, was sitting at the table reading a magazine. Sighing slightly, Joe sat at the table across from his wife and smiled wearily at her.

"Sary? Sweetie?"

Sarah looked up, looking amused.

"Dear - Muggle punishments again?"

"Oh, I don't think of it as a punishment," Sarah said lightly, setting the magazine aside. "I think every decent witch and wizard should know how to do things the Muggle way."

Joe shook his head with a laugh and placed one of his large hands over his wife's small ones. "Muggle Studies really captured you, didn't it?" Joe asked quietly, his eyes twinkling.

Sarah smiled and placed her free hand over Joe's. "Just like you captured me, darling," Sarah replied in a hushed voice.

A slow smile spread across Joe's face. "Of course, Sary-beary," he murmured, his lips inches from hers.

"Ugh! Mum! Dad!"

The spell broke and the Potters pulled away, laughing.

"Oh, James," Sarah turned to her disgusted son, blushing. "Just - just get back to your dishes."

James shook his head, muttering under his breath.

A sudden scream split the silence in the house.

A dish slipped from James' hand and fell to the floor with a crash.

Sarah gasped as she and her husband leaped to their feet.

Joe had drawn his wand and almost flew out of the door.

"Jessica?" He yelled, running up the stairs towards the screaming of his niece.

The screams came from the hallway near Jessica's bedroom.

As Joe rounded the corner, he saw a beast advancing on his niece, who cowered in a corner, screaming. His breath caught.

No.

It couldn't be.

It wasn't possible…

"_STUPEFY_!" Joe bellowed and a jet of light hit the beast in the back.

It staggered and Joe's eyes widened.

"_RIDDIKULUS_!"

_CRACK_! The boggart-beast turned into James' dead body.

Jessica stared at the boggart with wide eyes before _CRACK_! It became a pile of sludge.

"Jessica, get downstairs," Joe said in a hard voice. "James, go with her, Sarah help me with this thing."

Leaving James' parents downstairs, James led his cousin into the sitting room. Jessica was crying even harder that ever, her small frame shaking alarmingly.

"Jessie." James put his arms around her, holding her close to him. "Jessie, its okay; It was just a Boggart."

"I-I was s-so scared..." Jessica sobbed, burying her face into his shoulder.

James just hung onto her, holding her close. Jessica cried for a while, both children sitting on the couch. When Jessica had finally cried herself to sleep, the Potters walked in, looking stony-faced and weary.

"How is she?" Sarah asked quietly, kneeling next to the sleeping child, who had her head on James' shoulder.

"She just fell asleep." James whispered as Joe made to pick her up.

"I'll bring her into her room," he said, holding his niece. "The Boggart's gone; she'll have nothing to fear when she wakes."

James and Sarah watched as Joe carried the girl out of the room.

"What was that, Mum?" James asked quietly.

Sarah did not reply immediately; she continued to stare at the doorway. Finally, she pulled herself out of her trance and glanced at him.

"Don't worry about it James," she said quietly. "Just go back to the dishes."

0-0-0-0-**Severus and Lily**-0-0-0-0

Lily sat across from Severus underneath a tree, frowning. She had finally given him the chance to explain himself, but she now had trouble believing what he had told her. She watched as Severus removed his too-big trench coat as he continued to explain about his world – _their_ world.

"…and the Ministry could punish you if you do magic outside of school. They send you letters when you're caught."

A surge of panic shot through Lily. "But I _have_ done magic outside of school!"

As though sensing her anxiety, Severus added quickly, "We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid because you can't help it." He nodded importantly. "Once you're eleven and they start training you, you've got to be careful."

Lily picked up a stray twig and waved it in the air as though she were casting a spell. She considered for a moment, letting her wrist slack for a moment then, dropping the twig, she leaned forward, her heart pounding as she asked the question that she feared the answer to. "It _is_ real, isn't it?" she asked uncertainly, searching her new friend's eyes. "It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me – that there isn't a Hogwarts. It _is_ real, isn't it?" she repeated anxiously.

Severus smiled reassuringly. "It's real for us, but not her. We'll get the letters, you and me."

Relief flooded through Lily like sliding into a warm bath. "Really?" she whispered, excited.

"Definitely." Severus grinned at her.

"Will it really come by owl?" This probably exited Lily the most. She absolutely loved owls.

"Normally, but you're Muggle-born so someone from the school will have to come and explain things to your parents."

Lily's smile faded. The word "Muggle-born" stood out to her and she knew there were all sorts of wizards – Muggle-born, half-blood and pure blood. Severus had explained the three to her, but Muggle-born sounded like the most fragile to her. She finally voiced yet another thing that was really bothering her.

"Does it matter, being Muggle-born?"

Severus seemed to hesitate before he replied slowly, "No. It doesn't make any difference."

Lily beamed. "Good." She stretched out on the ground, laying flat on her stomach, trying to get comfortable once again. She looked up at the canopy of leaves above them and then looked at him quizzically.

"How are things at your house?" she asked.

Apparently this was a subject Severus had hoped they would avoid. His forehead creased and he pursed his lips. "Fine," He replied shortly.

"They're not arguing anymore?" Lily pressed.

"Oh yes, they're arguing," Severus replied lightly, absentmindedly tearing apart some leaves. "But it won't be that long before I'm gone."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

"He doesn't like anything much."

Lily sat there quietly for a moment, watching Severus destroy leaves that were as green as her own eyes. It worried her that the Snapes fought. Her own parents didn't fight as much as his. Wanting to change the subject, Lily cast around for something – anything – to talk about.

"Severus?"

"Yeah?" he looked up with a small smirk on his face.

"Tell me about the Dementors again."

Severus looked as surprised as what had come out of her mouth as she was. She didn't like talking about the Dementors, but now that she knew that she could get into trouble for doing magic outside of school, she wanted to know if the beasts would come after her.

"What d'you want to know about them for?"

"If I use magic outside of school-" she broke off when Severus started to laugh.

"They wouldn't give you to the Dementors for that!" he assured her. "Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too-" he broke off very suddenly, turning bright red.

Lily sighed as he turned back to mutilating the leaves. Just once she wished she could get a full sentence out of him without him stopping or changing the subject. There was a sudden rustling sound behind them and Lily saw Severus start, his black eyes fixed on something behind her. Lily twisted around, startled.

Petunia stood beside a nearby tree, staring awkwardly at the pair.

"Tuney!" Lily brightened at the sight of her sister, but Severus' angry voice behind her brought her down a few pegs.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted, now on his feet. "What d'you want?"

Lily stared at her sister, who looked as though she had been caught stealing from the cookie jar again. Lily sensed an argument coming. She stood, hoping she could distract them from each other.

"What's that you're wearing, anyway?" Petunia snapped, pointing at Severus' smock. "Your mother's blouse?"

_Crack._

A branch above Petunia's head fell from the tree.

"Tuney!" Lily screamed as her sister staggered out of the way.

The branch narrowly missed her, hitting her on the shoulder. Petunia clutched her shoulder and burst into tears. Though at twelve years old, Petunia was much too big to cry over something hitting her, Lily thought that it must be a serious injury.

"Tuney!" Lily rushed towards her sister, but Petunia turned on her heel and sprinted away. Lily watched her sister disappear. Anger suddenly seared through her chest and she turned sharply to her friend. "Did you make that happen?" She demanded.

"No," Severus replied curtly, looking defiant and worried.

Lily's eyes narrowed. She had lived with sneaky Petunia long enough to know when someone was lying. "You _did_! You hurt her!" Petunia probably deserved what she got, but Lily couldn't help defending her. They were sisters, after all.

"No – no I didn't!" Severus was starting to become desperate. The desperation in his voice was all she needed. She threw him one last glare and ran off after her sister, wanting to make sure she was alright.

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Though their mother had been sure that it was an unfortunate accident, Petunia refused to speak to Lily for the rest of the night.

"Tuney, it wasn't my fault." Lily hissed as they washed and dried the dishes that night. Petunia had not been seriously injured, but she had a nasty bruise on her thin shoulder. Petunia ignored her and handed her another plate to dry in silence. Lily sighed and took the dish, wishing her sister would give her a chance to explain.

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Thank you again to everyone who has been with me so far and has been patient with me. Gold stars for all of my readers!! This chapter is much longer than my last one, so I hope that makes up for the long wait. Next chapter is much longer so far, so that should more than make up for it.


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